Project: ARES
by Cr00cy
Summary: One had all dreams taken away from him. Other never had anything but dreams. Two broken souls met by chance - maybe they can make each other whole
1. Chapter 1

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

That was what Jaune was doing.

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

A simple thing. Something every person did all the time.

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

For him though, that was the only thing he could do. For over a year, the only thing Jaune could do on his own was breathe - in and out. Everything else had to be done for him. He couldn't move, he couldn't talk, he couldn't even eat normal food - it was provided to him by drip.

Jaune hated that. He hated the unnaturally white room he was stuck in. He hated the constant beeping of the medical aperture that monitored him and kept him alive. He hated how he couldn't even go to the toilet to take care of his needs - his completely paralyzed body just let all the 'waste' out. He vaguely remembered crying the first time it happened. Now he didn't care anymore.

Just one moment. That was all it took to rob him of everything - his hopes, his dreams... his dignity. He hates that too.

There was a sudden gust of wind, and the noise from the corridor becomes louder for a moment, before doors to his room click shut. He didn't turn to look who entered, he knew it was his doctor, here to check on him. It's not like he could turn even if he wanted. He hates that too.

The doctor comes into his field of vision. He greets him, checks the aperture near his bed, and then pulls out a syringe.

Jaune focuses, takes hold of the power running through his body, and pulls it away from his right arm. By now, this is as easy as breathing for him. He blinks two times - the only thing beside breathing he is capable of. The doctor nods, and moves to take a sample of his blood, now that the Aura protecting his arm is gone.

This was one thing Jaune found funny in his current situation. His father, an experienced Hunter, never wanted to awaken his Aura, saying that if he really wanted to be Hunter, he should do it on his own.

And Jaune did awaken it on his own - at the exact same time his spine was shattered. So now he had Aura - but was trapped in the rotting prison that was his body. Ironic, isn't it?

The doctor nods to him, sending him a friendly smile. And Jaune knows it's not just for show - this particular doctor really cared. The older man offers a few words of support, and leaves his room, leaving Jaune alone yet again. One year, three weeks, and two days. This is how long has passed since that fateful day.

With nothing better to do, Jaune focused on his Aura again. He took control of it, moving it around his body, focusing on one spot, then spreading evenly everywhere. It was a pointless thing to do - it's not like he would ever be able to leave this room, but it at least gave him something to do.

* * *

Fun thing about being paralyzed - you have a lot of free time and not many options to fill it up. A few months after his accident, when Jaune finally accepted he'd managed to go even further away from his dream of becoming a Hunter than he already was - he started to play around with his Aura. He could feel this power run through his body, empowering it, as useless as it was.

This become his favorite - and only - pastime. He discovered he could control how, and where, it would flow if he focused hard enough. So he started practicing. He practiced every moment he was awake - and as time went by, his control got better and better. After four months he could effortlessly move it around his body - this made life much easier for the doctors when they wanted to give him an injection or take a sample of his blood.

Around a year and a half after the accident he discovered he could use Aura to augment his senses.

This was a lot harder than simply moving his Aura around, but Jaune was happy - this proved a challenge, something to keep his mind off sad reality. Lying there, in his bed, without the ability to move, and practicing with his Aura as the only thing he could do, let him pretend.

Pretend that he was doing some special training. That he is developing some super-awesome-secret superpower, the likes of which the world had never seen. That, if he become proficient enough with, he would be able to walk again.

That he wasn't useless.

So he practiced driving Aura towards his eyes, his ears, even his nose. More often than not only thing he got for his trouble was a headache - but he continued nonetheless. It was better than just lying there, remembering.

* * *

It was hearing that he mastered first. Probably because it was most useful for him now. Getting better eyesight, or smell, wouldn't do much for him. At least with hearing, he could listen to people walking around.

Still, it took him a lot of time to figure out how to do it properly.

Oh sure, just using Aura to boost it was easy enough. He had it covered in less than two months for not only hearing - but also smell and sight.

But he wasn't satisfied with just that. It consumed a lot of Aura, and he could keep it up only for a few moments before the headache kicked in.

It took him more than five months to figure out why - and it was a conversation between two doctors that gave him the idea. They were discussing how one of the patients had trouble hearing after suffering some brain damage. This gave him some inspiration - if senses had parts of brain responsible for them, maybe augmenting those parts would let him handle enhanced perception for longer?

Six month later he succeeded. Smell was much easier now that he knew what to do, but sight still gave him a lot of trouble. Often, instead of getting better, his vision became blurred. Jaune wasn't sure why, but he welcomed this challenge. The more time he spent trying to figure that out, the less he had to think about how hopeless his situation was.

Finally, after nearly a year after he began his self-imposed training, his Aura augmentation skills reached a level he was satisfied with. He still would get a headache if he enhanced his senses too much, or held it for too long, but now his time limit was over an hour, not a few seconds.

So now he had a means to experience the world around him much better, but he still couldn't interact with it. He couldn't communicate with anyone.

He wondered if Aura could help him with that too?

* * *

It happened on his thirteenth birthday - nearly three years after the accident. His family came to visit him like usual. His parents and all seven sisters.

He hated that. He hated that they were forcing themselves to act all cheery for him. He hated the tired look on his father's face. He hated the bags under the eyes of his mother.

He hated he couldn't do anything to help them, to tell them it was all right, that they should stop worrying about him and just live their lives.

That he couldn't communicate with them at all, even though they were right next to him. He could hear them before they even entered the hospital. He could smell them before they reached his room. He could see them clearly, even if they came in the middle of the night. He could sense their Auras, calm and dormant for his mother and sisters, and the burning brightly, awakened power of his father.

He could _feel_ them in many ways, most of which he couldn't even describe - but he couldn't say even a single word to them.

He flexed his Aura, spread it, focused it on them, hoping against all hope that it would somehow convey his feelings to them.

And it did. Jaune wasn't sure who was more surprised when the link formed - his father or he, but surprise quickly gave way to hope, and then happiness. Arthur Arc almost fell when he jumped out of his chair, ran to his son's side, and clenched his hand in his. Needless to say, it startled his wife and daughters. They demanded to know what was happening, why he was acting so strange.

"I can feel him. His emotions, his feels - I can feel them. And he can feel mine too." He managed to say with a hoarse voice.

"It must be somehow be transferred by Aura - I can feel his connecting to my own. It might be his Semblance, or.. I don't know. But I can feel him." He added after a moment, tears in his eyes.

Of course, the rest of Jaune's family immediately demanded to be included in this connection. Poor Arthur tried as best he could to explain he couldn't do anything about it, and that awakening the Auras of all his family at this very moment would most probably kill him.

Jaune found his expression very funny when his mother and sisters seemed to seriously consider forcing him to do it anyway. The hurtful look his father sent his way made him feel guilty...but only a little.

To spare his father from death by Aura exhaustion, Jaune focused on his sisters and mother. It was much harder to form a link with them, but he eventually succeeded.

That day, for the first time in three years, the Arcs cried tears of joy, not sorrow.

* * *

By the time his fourteenth birthday came around, 'feeling' people became something he did instinctively. He discovered it was very hard to connect to people other than his family - as proved by one nurse that freaked out when he tried to connect to her. Instead, he developed a method of extending his Aura around, letting him 'touch' other people.

It allowed him to know what a person was feeling, though it was vague - he could tell if someone was angry, or happy, or annoyed...but he couldn't tell why.

Oh well, not that it mattered.

* * *

There were good days.

Days when he looked at all that he achieved even though he was paralyzed, and he felt something akin to pride. He remembered his father's praise when he learned how well Jaune could control his Aura. He recalled the doctors' stunned expressions when they made check ups, and it turned out he was in much better condition than he should be. He remembered how each time he linked with his family was much easier than the last. How the connection lasted longer, and how much clearer the sent messages were.

On days such as those, he would send his Aura deep into his body, scanning it, examining it.

This strange power helped him with so much, allowed him to do so many things that were supposed to be impossible. Maybe it would help him walk again?

* * *

There were bad days.

Days when he looked back at everything he'd learned, everything he achieved - and realized just how little it mattered.

So what if he could tell by smell who person was, and what mood they were in?

So what if he could hear everything that was happening on this hospital floor, or tune everything out and listen to a quiet conversation between two doctors five rooms down the corridor?

So what if he could see other people's Aura? So what that he could connect with it?

His enhanced vision was not needed in this small hospital room. Nothing he heard with his super hearing could possibly help him. Smell? The only thing it did for him was to let him know when he wet himself.

His Aura link? It was just a poor substitute for normal talking.

Pointless. Worthless. Everything he did, everything that he achieved, it was all completely worthless.

* * *

Jaune made his decision. It was enough. It was long past time he ended this farce.

What finally pushed him to do what, in hindsight, he should have long ago, was one overheard conversation.

His family was coming to visit regularly, as always. As always they 'talked' by exchanging emotions and feelings. It was all good, but had one downside - it was hard to control what was transferred. So even though they didn't want him to know, Jaune's parents were in distress. He didn't know why at first, but once he overheard a conversation between his father and one of the doctors, the reason was made clear - money.

Keeping him alive was expensive. With his sisters growing and going to schools, money was becoming a problem.

In hindsight, it was obvious, wasn't it? It's not like social care would cover all of this - apparently it didn't cover even a small part.

Jaune wanted to do something, but what could he do? All hopes of him miraculously recovering had long since passed. So now he was not only useless - worse, he had become a burden for his family, and would continue to be until the day he died. He could do nothing to help them.

And then it dawned on him. There was one thing he could do, something that would resolve all of this. It was so simple, that he wondered why he'd never thought about it before, only wasting time on practicing useless things.

All of his family's problems stemmed from the fact that they had to pay very expensive medical bills. His bills. So if he were gone, his family would be happier, right?

It was a sound idea, in his opinion. So not wasting anymore time, he put his plan into action. He was weak, surely it wouldn't take much to end his life, right?

* * *

It turned out that killing yourself with your own Aura is a rather hard thing to do. Well, that made some sense - it was a power meant to protecting oneself, not harm.

He tried many things, before he decided to try and over accelerate his heart. Unfortunately, him being in hospital and hooked to various medical machines, which meant there was little time between said machines picking up his alarmingly high heart rate, and doctors showing up.

There were a few intense moments, when they tried to save his life while he tried to end it. But eventually, the same doctor that usually checked on him came. He took one look at the situation, and let out a tired sigh. Then he pushed himself toward Jaune and looked him deep in the eyes.

"Enough" He said in a serious voice. "They will never forgive themselves if you die like this."

That made him stop.

And the look on his family's faces when they learned what he was trying to do stopped him from trying again. At least until he found a better method than trying to overcharge his heart.

* * *

Five years. That was how much time had passed since that fateful day. Five years since he became a prisoner in his own body. Five years since the doctors said he would be completely paralyzed for the rest of his life. Five years since Jaune lost his dreams, his hopes, his pride.

Five years since he was bound to this bed, with the only thing he could do being breathing and blinking.

But today, it would be over. His parents and sisters would soon come to celebrate the fifteenth birthday of their useless son and brother. But that wouldn't happen. Not anymore. Jaune would make sure of it - that today will be the last time they came to visit a paralyzed cripple.

Because he'd finally did it. He found a way.

He probably would be grinning, if he could move his face muscles.

They appeared soon after. There was the usual ritual of his sisters coming to give him a kiss on the cheek, from youngest to oldest.

Jaune could hardly contain his excitement. He wanted to get it over with, but forced himself to wait. The right time would come soon enough.

After greetings, there came a time for talking. His family filled him on what had happened since their last visit. Mom talking about the new herbal medicine she'd developed, his father about some of the missions he was on. His sisters talked about school, their friends, and many different small, stupid things.

Then they sat on both sides of his bed - mother and three oldest sisters on his right, his father and rest of Jaune's sisters on his left.

Jaune extended his Aura, forming a link with his family. Even after all these years, it was hard to keep it up with so many people - as much for him, as for them. They only had a few minutes, but it was enough to convey what he wanted. He didn't need much time.

His family seemed surprised, and even worried when link formed. Finally, the time had come.

* * *

Victoria Arc was feeling a strange sense of unease. It started as soon as she entered her son's hospital room. Somehow it felt… different.

She tried to ignore it when they went through their usual routine, but it persisted, and even grew when she observed Jaune's face. He seemed much more lively, much more interested in what was happening. And also impatient. Like he was waiting for something to happen. Somehow this made her even more uneasy.

When their 'link' formed, she couldn't help but be surprised by the sheer excitement she felt. It was never perfect method of communication, only ever able to transfer one's feelings, but this was all they had. And again this strange excitement made her uneasy. Somehow, it reminded her of something that almost happened a year and a half ago

She looked into her son's eyes, and focused on the link more. She didn't find the same despair that she'd seen on that horrible day, when she learned she almost lost him. That her baby boy thought the best thing he could do for his family was to die.

There was nothing like that this time - only excitement, happiness, and… pride? She had no idea what to think of it. She took his hand in hers, and squeezed. Victoria did it every time they visited, even though she knew he could neither feel it, nor return the gesture.

Was it just her, or was his hand was warmer today? She shook her head, dispelling the thought, and any false hope it might bring. The was clear - he would never be able to move again. Ever.

She squeezed his hand again, more for her own comfort than anything.

And then, Jaune Arc, her dear son, squeezed it back.

There was a moment of tense silence. Victoria Arc froze. Then she looked at her son's hand, still in hers. Then she looked into his eyes - they were shining with pride. She looked back at their hands, and squeezed again.

And yet again he squeezed it back. It was weak, so very weak, but it was there.

She squeezed it yet again, and yet again the getsure was returned.

A quiet chuckle escaped her mouth. Then another one when her son responded to her squeeze yet again. And again. And again. She didn't know how many times they repeated this, or when her chuckles turned into laughter, but she was aware of her family was looking at her with a mix of surprise and worry. She realized she probably should explain what was happening - but was too busy feeling happy. For the first time in what seemed forever, she was genuinely happy.

And proud. So very proud.

* * *

**puts on sunglasses**

**I'm back.**

**To those of you who read The ProfessionArc, welcome back. To those who didn't - well, hello there.**

**So, what can I say? This story will be different than TPA -as you can probably tell. Some familiar faces might make an appearance, but other than that both stories have nothing to do with each other. **

**Just like last time, JJD is editor-in-chief. Go check out his works (I took the liberty to… borrow some of his OCs), they are really good.**

**Oh, and this time around there will be romance. I won't say what ship it is just yet -you'll have to read to find out. Also - don't expect too good of a romance.**

**Well, that's it from me. Until next time.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Cr00cy: Here we go, with ch 2. You can thank JJD for making it readable.**

**JJD: Everybody ready for some more family trauma?**

* * *

**CH 2 **

"Ok, now three fast and two slow."

'Smug' couldn't even begin to describe the look on Arthur Arc's face when the doctor came to examine his son. Well, not only his - the whole Arc family was basking in smugness.

"Two fast, two slow, then three fast."

The doctor on the other hand looked like he was reconsidering all of his life choices.

He was currently glaring at his hand that was yet again being squeezed in exactly the sequence he requested. The problem was that it was done by a boy whose spine was broken in several places. By all accounts, he should be completely paralyzed for the rest of his days. With a sigh, the doctor let go of his hand and turned towards the boy's family - the parents and seven sisters were basically drowning the room in smugness.

"I… I honestly don't know what to say. Everything I know about the human body tells me he shouldn't be able to do this."

He didn't think they could look any more smug - but apparently the Arc family had picked this day to prove him wrong on every account.

"So? When will Big Bro be able to leave the hospital?" Asked the youngest girl in the room.

"Now, now sweety, let's not go too far. Jaune just barely managed to move his fingers. Let's give him some more time." Said Victoria Arc. But the look on her face cleary said she had no doubt that the day that her son would leave the hospital - on his own legs - would come.

Doctor Samuel Rickson let out a tired sigh, but he smiled nonetheless. With over forty years of experience in his field, not many things could surprise him. And he couldn't recall the last time when his diagnosis was wrong.

But young Jaune Arc had somehow managed to do just that.

His Aura control had reached incredible levels. Sure, he couldn't harden it, or use many of the basic techniques Hunters learned, but the way he augmented his senses with it was frankly terrifying. Using Aura to manipulate his own brain? It was so risky that no one had ever tried to do it - at least not at the levels Jaune was.

And now this. Samuel hadn't the slightest clue how his patient managed to use Aura to spread signals from his brain to the other parts of his body - because that was the only way he could possibly explain what he was seeing.

And honestly - that was crazy too. If someone had suggested such an idea to him a day, no, just two hours before - he would laugh it off as a poor joke.

Well, that didn't mattered. Apparently it was time he accepted the fact that Jaune Arc was not a normal kid, and he should stop trying to apply common sense to him. But he was certain of one thing - Jaune would never be able to walk again. It was simply not possible.

He smirked, leaving the room with a very happy family.

Who knows? Maybe Jaune would manage to prove him wrong yet again.

Samuel wished for it to happen from the bottom of his heart.

* * *

The doors to the pub burst open, revealing a figure with blond hair and blue eyes. A few people made to complain - but paused when they saw who it was.

Arthur Arc was not someone you wanted to get in the way of. Especially now that his only son was in the hospital, paralyzed. A few patrons did simple math and winced when they recalled what day it was - Jaune's birthday. The whole Arc family always visited the hospitalized boy, and Arthur always came down to the bar afterwards to drown his sorrows in a bottle.

Some people made to leave, before they noticed one strange, and frankly a little terrifying, detail. Arthur was smiling. No, that was an understatement - he was grinning, his mouth spread so wide it threatened to split his face in two.

"Welcome Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between. Tonight you all drink on me!"

This declaration was met with a hum of approval. A few patrons even made to make toasts - before they realized they didn't know what the occasion was.

"So… what are we drinking to?" Someone hurried to fix the embarrassing situation.

Somehow, Arthur's smile seemed to grow even further.

"Oh, the occasion is grand indeed, my friends. Because you see, on this day, my son, Jaune Arc, proved that the only person with the right to decide what he can and cannot do is he himself. He laughed in the face of 'expert' opinions. He's thrown concepts of 'possible' and 'impossible' out of the window, after shooting them in the face and kicking them in the nuts! He made fate his _bitch!_ He. MOVED. HIS! **FINGERS!**"

There were a few seconds of silence before cheers erupted. Most of the people gathered tonight in the Silver Lake pub had no idea why someone moving his fingers was supposed to be such a big deal, but hey, if this man was going to pay for their drinks - the least they could do was cheer him on.

Arthur sat on a stool near the bar and ordered a shot of vodka, and raised it in a toast to his son. Some people came up to him and congratulated him. He thanked them all, laughed and joked around - for the first time in five years.

He tried his best to not allow himself to hope too much. He rationalized that it was just a tiny squeeze of the fingers on one hand. But he couldn't. He simply couldn't stay calm. After his son's accident, he'd traveled all over the world, seeking the best doctors and asking them their opinions. Every single one said the same thing: "heavy spine damage, complete paralysis, no chances for recovery".

He could barely stop himself from calling every single of those doctors and bragging about how his son didn't care about their diagnosis, how he decided on his own what was and what wasn't possible.

Instead, he just downed his drink and ordered the next one. This one he would take his time with - he didn't want to replace his current happiness with an alcohol-induced one.

"So, what's the occasion?"

Arthur turned to the person who just sat down next to him.

_Well, now that's a face I wouldn't expect to see._

"Nothing much. Just my son doing what every doctor I've ever spoken to deemed impossible."

Seeing other man's questioning glance, he hurried to explain.

"He managed to move his hand. Well, his fingers to be precise."

Arthur grinned at his companion dumbfounded expression.

"But wasn't he…"

"Yes."

"And…"

"Yes."

A few moments passed in silence.

"Well, you never let what people said stop you from getting what you want. Guess your son took that from you."

Arthur's mouth stretched in a proud smile.

"Damn right he did. He is my son after all."

After that, a comfortable silence settled between them. A few minutes, and one or two drinks, later his companion finally decided to speak.

"Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

"You know why I'm here?"

"Yeah."

"So, did you give some thought to my proposal?"

Arthur sighed. He had. Ever since their talk six months ago, he'd thought about the proposition he'd received every day. Back then he refused. It's not that the offer was bad - quite the opposite. His friend had to go to great lengths to secure such a great deal for him. At any other time, he would have probably accepted it on the spot.

But it just came at the wrong time. How could he leave his family, when just a few hours earlier he learned that his son had tried to end his life because he thought of himself as nothing more than a burden?

Arthur knew that his actions were illogical. That accepting this offer would solve the primary reason why his son had made such terrifying choice - money. But he simply couldn't force himself to do so. Accepting this contract, as good as it was, would mean he had to leave his family, for a few months at the very least. And that was something he simply couldn't do, not back then.

And he wasn't sure if he could now either.

"I did, but I honestly don't know. Part of me knows how good an offer this is, and how much trouble it must have cost you to hold it for me, but I can't leave my family like that." He took a deep breath, held it, and slowly let go. Then he looked his friend in the eye. "I… I need some more time. I'm sorry. "

"Don't be. I know how much your family means to you. And don't worry - we hire new people all the time, I'm sure I will be able to fit you in."

Arthur nodded.

"Thank you."

They sat together for awhile longer, talking about the good old days. Eventually, his friend said his goodbyes and left, leaving Arthur alone with his thoughts. Well, as alone as one can be in a pub full of people.

He considered the proposition he'd received, and as every time before, he could find little reason to refuse, other than his unwillingness to leave his family. With a heavy sigh he made his decision.

_I'll talk with Vi tomorrow. If she says it's ok, I'll accept the job. It will probably take a few weeks, maybe months before all the formalities are taken care of, so it's not like I'll have to leave immediately._

* * *

They ended up meeting again next week. Arthur was honestly surprised to see his friend, together with some older man he vaguely recognized, in Dr. Samuels office.

"Welcome again, Arthur. Surprised to see me so soon?"

The Arc patriarch just shook his head.

"Sure I am. So, what brings you here, Jimmy?"

General James Ironwood smiled.

"Well, the same things I've been bothering you about for the past few months. But this time, I think I have something that will help you make a decision."

He gestured to the older man, who had been talking with Dr. Samuel up to this point. Now that Arthur could see his face, he recognized the man instantly.

"I believe you know Dr. Polendina?"

"Yes, of course. We've met a few times. It's a pleasure to see you again, Doctor."

"Likewise, Mr Arc." The two men shook hands.

"So, what brings you to Vale, Doctor? I thought you were busy with yet another project?"

The older man laughed.

"I'm always busy with some project. That's the hard life of a scientist. And my visit here is related to one of them." He considered Arthur for a moment, then nodded and spoke in a calm, even tone.

"I would like to ask a favor of you, Mr. Arc. Or rather - from your son."

Arthur tensed. A favor? From his son? What possible favor could a paralyzed fifteen year old boy do for Dr. Gepetto Polendina - the man single handedly responsible for Atlas' rapid technological advancement.

"Pardon me, Doctor, but I fail to see how my son could be of any service to you. Especially considering his condition." He said with a stern voice.

The doctor just smiled.

"I assure you, he can. And it's precisely because of his condition. But before I say more, how about we gather the rest of your family? I would hate to have to explain everything again."

* * *

The whole Arc family sat in a small conference room that Dr. Samuel took them to. Almost instantly after entering, their attention focused on a single man.

"Welcome," Dr. Gepetto greeted.

"My name is Geppetto Polendina, and I would like to talk with you about Jaune."

This got him an instant reaction. If any of the eight females weren't giving him their full attention earlier, they were now. Their looks ranged from hopeful, to worry, to outright hostile.

Arthur winced. This might get nasty very fast.

_You better choose your next words carefully, Doc. They may be your last._

"You are not taking away Big Bro!" Viv, the youngest daughter of the Arc family shouted, glaring at the older man. He just smiled kindly in response.

"I do not intend to do anything like that, young lady. And I will be happy to answer all your questions, but how about I talk about why I'm even here first?"

Several mouths clicked shut. After a moment of hesitation, Dr. Polendina received nine nods.

"Excellent. I'll try to keep it brief. So, for the past few years, Atlas has been working on developing a new kind of prosthesis. Initially, we were focusing on improving existing models, but due to a recent breakthrough, we were able to develop a brand new model."

At this, tapped at his scroll a few times. The wall behind him blinked, and a holographic screen appeared, displaying some kind of device.

"This here is the newest model of implant that we have been researching for the past few years. It's the basis for all our robotic prosthesis. The first model, introduced over twenty years ago, completely changed the lives of many people who lost their limbs. After a simple operation, and just a few months of rehabilitation, most patients could lead a normal, everyday life. Even though this prosthesis' performance couldn't compare to that of human limbs, it was much better than anything we could offer before."

The Arcs were listening in complete silence, not daring to make a single sound. Some of them started to suspect where this is going - but still they didn't dare to hope.

"After a very successful first implementation, we started developing a more advanced model. The Mk2 was a great improvement over the original model. Thanks to its development, we were able to create prostheses that allowed for a much greater range of movement, allowing patients to perform actions requiring excellent physical coordination. Of course, the primary recipient of this new prosthesis were Hunters and soldiers. Most of them were able to return to active duty after just a few months."

"Both models shared one weakness - they were too big to be used in anything other than limbs prosthesis. It made it impossible to use them to help people who, for example, suffered partial paralysis due to nerve damage. The only thing we could offer was amputation of the paralyzed limb and replacing it with a prosthesis. Needless to say, it was far from the best option. We've tried to solve this problem for a long time now, and just a few weeks ago we finished building a few prototype models."

"Initial tests proved promising, the implant's performance was far above what we expected. We are still testing its limits, but we believe that it should, in theory at least, be able to help even people with complete paralysis. What made this possible is the development of so called 'Aura circuits.' They really are a marvelous invention, that I'm sure one day will revolutionize all our technology, but for now they have one significant weakness - they require fine Aura control to operate. This, unfortunately, means that only people with awakened Aura can use the new implants."

The Doctor paused, and took a moment to look over the gathered family. None of them even blinked, they just stared intently at him. They already knew what he was going to say, but none of them made a single sound, or moved a single muscle, as if afraid that doing so would take this miraclus chance away from them.

Gepetto decided to not keep them waiting any longer.

"And this leads us to the reason for my visit here. While looking for volunteers to test these new implants, we ran into a certain problem, something that, perhaps, should have been expected. There were almost no candidates who have suffered complete paralysis, _and_ had their Aura unlocked. We only found a few cases, with most of them being people too young or too old to risk the operation. Then the General mentioned that his good friend has a son, who not only suffered complete paralysis, but who had also awakened his Aura."

Dr. Polendina looked every Arc in the eyes before continuing.

"So, here is my proposition. If you agree, young Jaune will be moved to my private clinic in Atlas, in order to receive the experimental treatment. I cannot guarantee that he will make a full recovery, but I'm certain that he, at the very least, will regain the ability to speak, and at least some mobility. And it all will be free of charge. So, what do you say? I know it is a monumental decision, but will you entrust Jaune into my care?"

There was a long moment of silence. Eventually, after taking a deep breath, Victoria Arc spoke.

"That sounds good. Frankly - too good. Please, tell me Doctor - why would you go to such lengths to help someone you don't know?"

Gepetto just smiled.

"I think you misunderstand, Ms. Arc. I will benefit from this deal as much, or maybe even more, than you. As I said - currently development of this technology is halted, because we simply do not have enough people to test it. In its current form, it's only usable for people with unlocked Aura - and even then only in theory. We _need_ to test it before we can start developing models for civilian use, which is our ultimate goal with this technology."

"And besides," he added, nodding towards Arthur, "Mr. Arc has helped me a lot in the past. I would be happy to return the favor."

Victoria looked at her husband. He looked back and nodded. She looked every one of her daughters in the eye. She saw the same thing in every pair. Uncertainty, fear, doubt, and something none of them had had in a long time - hope.

She closed her eyes and remained silent for a moment.

"Very well Doctor." She said finally, "We shall entrust Jaune to you."

Gepetto smiled.

"Splendid. There are some arrangements to be made before we can transport him to Atlas, but I suppose you would like to pass on the good news to your son first?"

"Oh, that will not be necessary Doctor. Jaune heard everything."

Gepetto blinked a few times, clearly surprised.

"Oh? How so? I did hear that he had mastered the art of augmenting his senses with Aura, but we are three floors below him. I don't believe he could hear us from his room."

Arthur smirked.

"Well, he has his ways."

Gepetto raised a single eyebrow.

"And would you mind telling me what they are?"

Arthur looked at his wife, an unspoken question passing through them. She closed her eyes, considering it for a few moments, then gave him a single nod.

He nodded back and got up from his seat.

"I suppose there is no reason not to. But I think that instead of explaining, it would be best for you to..._see_ for yourself. Please follow me."

* * *

"Interesting. Is this his Semblance?" Asked Dr. Polendina.

"Almost certainly, yes. Some of the things he does can hardly be explained any other way." Answered Arthur.

All of them - Arcs, Dr Samuel, Gepetto, and even Ironwood were now in Jaune's room. It felt really cramped with so many people in there, but no one complained.

Dr. Polendina hummed and focused on the link. He could feel what the young man in front of him felt. He knew he was happy to meet a new person, that he was excited about what he heard about the possible treatment, and how eager he was to receive it.

It was an interesting experience. It wasn't like talking in their minds, like something people with telepathic Semblances could do. It was more like showing each other pictures. It was a brief sensation, and vague at best, but enough to transfer at least basic messages.

"So, how does this senses sharing work?"

Dr. Samuel coughed before speaking.

"We know he can do it only with a single person at a time. We are not sure if there is any limit to how many senses he can share at once, if there is a hard time limit, or if there are any side-effects for him. We know almost for sure that there aren't any for the person he borrows senses from."

"I see. So, is there any limit to the number of people he can form this link with?"

"It's hard to tell. We know he can't link with just anyone. In fact, you sir are only the second person he's ever connected with, outside of his family."

"Oh? Who was the first?"

Samuel shrugged.

"Myself. We still couldn't determine a reason why."

Arthur coughed to get the attention of the two doctors.

"Up until now, I thought it had something to do with how well Jaune and the target know each other. Dr. Samuel formed a link after over three years, and he'd spent a lot of time with him. But seeing as you formed a link at your first meeting, I'm forced to reconsider. It's not a complete connection, but still..."

"Oh? So there are more stages to it?"

"Yes. It's hard to describe the difference, but if I had to, I would say that the connection became… clearer. There is less lag when sending messages, from what I can tell, it's nearly instantaneous. And it's much easier to hold such a link. Dr. Samuel suffered from heavy headaches after just a few moments of holding the link, even if no messages were sent. We can hold this link for several minutes, and possibly even hours if we don't 'talk' too much."

Gepetto nodded a few times to himself, then smiled at Jaune.

"Well, as much as I would love to talk about your Semblance more, there are a few questions I need to ask you, Jaune. Two blinks means 'yes', one means 'no'. Do you understand?"

Jaune blinked two times.

"In order to receive this treatment, you will have to go to Atlas. You will also have to spend several months, possibly years, there for rehabilitation in a private clinic belonging to GEPO industries. Are you ok with this?"

Two blinks.

"This treatment will involve attaching a specially developed implant to your brain, spine and possibly a few other places. This is experimental technology, so there is the possibility of side-effects. Do you understand?"

Two blinks.

"Possible side effects may include, but are not limited to, impaired speech, partial, or complete paralysis of limbs, chronic headaches, partially impaired senses of smell, sight, touch, taste, or hearing. Suffering such side effects will not be basis for demanding any sort of compensation from GEPO industries. Do you understand?"

Jaune took a moment to send the most deadpan stare he could muster at the older man. Then blinked twice.

"Lastly, GEPO Industries will provide any and all resources, equipment and personnel needed for your rehabilitation. Any data collected from surgery and your rehabilitation during your stay at GEPO clinic will be considered property of GEPO Industries. Are those terms acceptable for you?"

Jaune blinked twice. Honestly, was this man expected any other response?

Gepetto smiled, nodded, and turned to the rest of Arc family.

"I presume you all heard, understood, and agree to everything I just said?"

He received nine nods.

"Very well. Now, if you excuse me, I have to make arrangements to transport your son to Atlas. I'll see you all later." He turned to the blonde lying in his bed. "And I look forward to having you in my clinic, Jaune."

"How long it will take before Jaune can be transported to Atlas?" Asked Victoria.

The Doctor hummed.

"It's hard to tell. Like I said, there are some arrangements to be made, but it shouldn't take more than two or three days. Then two more days in clinics for the necessary tests and, depending on the results, we should be able to perform the first surgery about two or three days after that."

Crystal, the oldest of the Arc siblings, perked up at that.

"First? There will be more than one? How many?" She asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

Dr. Polendina just smiled at her and nodded.

"Yes, there will be at least three. How many exactly - it's hard to tell. Jaune is the first patient with complete paralysis that will receive these implants, and a new, untested model at that. I know you would like to know more, and I assure you, we will provide you with all information regarding Jaune's treatment, but please be patient for now - like I said, we still need to do a few tests before we decide how to proceed."

"I see. Well, we will not be keeping you then, Doctor." Said Arthur, shaking the other man's hand. Then he turned to James Ironwood, who was standing in the corner of the room, a small smile on his lips.

"I guess I no longer have any excuse to deny your request, do I, old friend?"

"Well, you could always refuse Dr. Polendina's offer…" General joked.

If Arthur would have had even the slightest desire to do so, the seven pairs of cold eyes that bore into him at that moment would have killed it off.

"No way. Besides, I kinda missed showing your Specialists that are not as special as they think they are."

"Ha! And I missed you whipping those wimps into shape. Seriously, the newer ones get completely hopeless when they lose their weapon."

Arthur gasped in mock shock.

"That can't be! My friend, rest assured I'll do everything in my power to whip them into shape. Even if it's the last thing they ever do."

There was a moment of silence, after which both men laughed.

"Well then, I guess I'll be going. See you later, old friend."

Arthur nodded, and held the door open as Gepetto, Ironwood, and Dr. Samuel left the room. After the last man left, he closed the door, and turned to his family. All of them were happy and hopeful. His daughters were already making plans on all the things they would be doing together with their brother when he was finally able to walk again.

_When, not if._

He thought, and his smile fell. Sure, this was a great opportunity, and Dr. Polendia was nothing short of a genius. If anyone could find a way to cure his son - it was him. But even the man himself had said that he could not guarantee success.

_Can we handle this? If this fails, and all this hope turns into despair, what will happen to them? Will we find the strength to keep moving?_

He let out a tired sigh, and then smiled. So what if it fails? They'd already suffered so much, and went so far. What was one more bump on the road? They would just continue as they always did. Together.

Arthur shook his head, and looked up at his son. Sure enough, his eyes were focused on him, and slightly glowing - a sign of him using his Semblance. The Arc patriarch snorted.

_Just look at me, being comforted by my own paralyzed son. Some father I am._

So, he dismissed these dark thoughts, and instead walked up to his son's bed. Maybe this would succeed, maybe it would fail, but whatever happens, they would have each other.

* * *

**So, this is ch 2 out of the way. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**By the way, if you enjoyed Coeur's Forged Destiny, or Gamer stories in general, check out 'Necromancer' by Thanlok. It's pretty solid story so far, and since I'm beta reader, you can be sure that the main character (no rewards for guessing who MC is) will not have it easy. Anyway, check it out.**

**See ya all next week.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome to Ch 3 of P:A. Written by me, made safe for consumption by JJD**

* * *

The bed was nice. Very futuristic-looking, as if pulled straight out of one of those sci-fi movies he watched from time to time. It was also very comfortable.

Well, at least it looked that way. It's not like Jaune could tell - they could have thrown him at a bed made from sharp blades and broken glass, and he wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

He was secured to his bed by several belts, and his head was covered by a helmet. Well, he didn't know if it was a helmet, but it looked similar to what the Atlas soldiers he sometimes saw on TV wore. His was just much bigger - at least three times as big as his head. Doctor Polendia said it would gather some of the data they would need to perform his surgery.

Jaune didn't know what that data that would be, or how the machine would collect it, but frankly, he didn't care. What he did care about was that it apparently had a built in TV, one that he could operate by breathing on the small device next to his mouth in the correct way,

Neat.

Three days after Dr. Gepetto's visit, five people in white uniforms walked into his room with his parents and informed him all preparations were complete and he was being transported to the plane that would take him to Atlas.

Of course Jaune knew that already - he'd overheard two doctors talking about it yesterday evening.

They moved him into something that looked like a cross between a hospital bed and a wheelchair. It probably wasn't named wheelbed, but then again, who cared? Certainly not Jaune. All he could think about was that he was leaving his hospital room for the first time in five years. And it wouldn't be a short trip either - he was going all the way to Atlas!

Talk about kicking things off with a bang.

After he was put in his new bed, one of the people in white uniforms tapped his scroll a few times. Moments later, Jaune could hear the soft humm coming from under him. It turned out that whatever it was he was lying in - it could fly. Well, more like hover a few centimeters above the ground, but it was still cool as hell.

_If they can make flying beds, maybe they can actually fix me too._ He thought, as he was led out of his room and into the hospital corridor.

He was lying with his head facing the direction they were walking, allowing him to see where they were heading. He didn't know if the people in white uniforms did this on purpose - but he was thankful for it anyway.

After they finally reached the landing pad, Jaune couldn't help the shocked gasp that escaped his mouth. Well, it sounded more like a low groan, but again, he didn't care. The aircraft he was looking at was the coolest thing he'd ever seen - and he was going to fly in it!

Jaune would have been grinning like a loon, if his facial muscles worked properly.

So, after they brought him on board this super-cool aircraft, and put him into this super-cool bed-thing, and put this not-as-cool-but-still-kinda-neat helm-thing on his head, and explained how to operate it, Jaune was all too happy to check out what it had in store. And it had a lot! And he meant A LOT. There were movies, books, comics, and even a few games! He couldn't really play them, but they were there, so it was cool.

He settled for movies at first, then switched to comics. Eventually, he got tired and blew on the control device in a sequence that one of the people in white uniforms told him would activate 'sleep mode'.

As soon as he did it, his visor become dark, and the soft sound of rain started coming out of the speakers. Jaune found it very relaxing, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"So, he's finally asleep? For a moment there I thought he would stay up for the whole way to Atlas." Said one of medics, looking at the sleeping Jaune. He was a well built young man, with shoulder-length black hair and grey eyes. The sleeves of his white coat were rolled up, revealing a tattoo of a flaming sword in his right forearm.

The woman sitting near the doors to the pilot's cabin lowered the magazine she was reading and looked up at him.

"Can you blame him? He left this room for the first time in five years, is going to a foreign country to undergo surgery that may let him walk again. He must be excited as hell."

"I guess you are right, but do you think it will work? You saw his medical data, this is very serious damage we're talking about." Said the first man.

"Well, his readings look promising. Muscles are in good shape, considering how long he wasn't using them. And the readings from his brain are quite good." Said an older, half-bald man, sitting near a monitor attached to side of Jaune's bed.

"Still, did you see how his spine looks? At this point, we might as well replace it with a synthetic one. Would be less hassle."

"We could, if we had such a thing. For now, bridge-implants is best we've got, and you know full well they can't be used to replace the whole spine." Woman spoke again.

"Yeah, I know. I'm just saying that it will be damn hard to bring this kid back to his feet. And even before that…." he trailed off.

"You are afraid of what attaching Mk-3 to his brain will do to him?" Asked the older man, not even looking away from the screen he was observing for most of their flight.

"Of course I am! We'll be attaching a basically untested piece of technology directly to this kid's brain! When I think about how many things could go wrong during the surgery alone, and even after that…"

"Well…" the older doctor finally turned away from screen. "Whatever happens, it would be hard to make his condition worse."

"I guess you are right…" The black haired man shook his head and yawned. "Anyway, I think I'll catch some sleep too. Wake me up if something important happens."

Soon silence fallen in the aircraft, interrupted only by the hum of engines, and medical apparatuses. The woman near the door continued to read, as the old doctor continued to observe monitor.

Jaune dreamed that he was running through endless grassy field.

* * *

Dr. Gepetto stared at the screen of his computer for a few moments, then let out tired sigh. It was two days since young Jaune Arc was brought to his clinic. The boy acclimated quickly, and showed great enthusiasm, and willingness to cooperate in every medical checkups he had to go through. Now looking at the data they gathered Gepetto really wasn't sure what to think.

Tests results looked good. But the problem was that the only thing he could compare them to was the data collected from the patients who didn't had they Aura unlocked. And Aura users always had better results at check-ups.

With another sigh he turned the screen off and walked out of his office. There was no point in delaying this any longer. Jaune was as healthy as a person in his situation could be. Aura kept his life functions stable. Sure, he was far from top condition, but it could have been much worse. Most internal organs worked properly, and even though a lot of muscles degenerated, It shouldn't interfere with the process.

Gepetto stopped before Jaune's room. He spent moment analyzing everything they did, trying to figure out if there was something else they could do to increase chances of success.

Nothing came to his mind.

They did every possible test, ran multiple simulations, double, and triple checked everything. They did absolutely everything they could to ensure surgery will end in success.

So he took a deep breath, and after knocking twice, entered the room. Eight pairs of eyes zeroed on him instantly.

Dr. Polendina smiled.

"I just received Jaune's tests results. They are fairly good, far above what we would have expected from someone hospitalized for so long."

"That means…?" Asked Victoria Arc.

"I already gave instructions to prepare for Jaune's surgery. If nothing unexpected happens, we will be able to perform first one tomorrow."

Arthur Arc raised an eyebrow at that.

"Only first one?"

"Yes." Dr. Gepetto pulled out his scroll,and placed it at a nearby table. After pressing two buttons, holographic model of human body was displayed.

"Tomorrow, we will attach a main implant here" he said, pointing at base of skull. "After that we will run some tests to make sure there are no unexpected side-effects. If everything will be alright, two to three days later, we will perform a second surgery and attach support implants. We suspect at least sixteen will be needed, we will know for sure after the main one is installed. Initially we wanted to attach them all at once, but after some consideration we decided to do it step by step. That way we will give Jaune some time to recover, and will be able to better react if something unexpected happens. After that, If there will be no complications, I suspect Jaune will be able to start first phase of his rehabilitation around one week from now on."

"I-I see. Thank you Doctor." said Victoria, grabbing her son's hand.

"Don't thank me yet. Save it for when he will be able to walk again."

She just smiled.

"If… No, _when_ this happens, I'll just thank you again. And will probably continue to do so for the rest of my life."

Doctor just nodded and left the room. There were still some arrangements to be made.

* * *

"Why is it taking so long?" whined Crystal Arc. Whole family was in the waiting room, sitting on quite comfortable couch, and watching big screen that took almost the whole wall. It was currently displaying one particular operation room - where Jaune Arc was undergoing his surgery. It was going on for almost eight hours now, and they were getting both worried and impatient.

"Please, rest easy, miss. This is a delicate operation, it's bound to take a lot of time." Said Dr. Polendina. He was sitting together with Arc family, answering any questions they had, and ensuring them that everything was ok. He had to do it several times already, and Crystal was frankly impressed that man didn't sounded, or looked, annoyed at all that he hand to answer the same question. Again.

"And why are you not operating Big Brother?" Asked ten year old Lavender Arc, hint of accusation in her voice. She was relatively small girl, even for age, with short, blond hair. Her twin sister Violet nodded in agreement, locking her heterochromatic eyes on older man.

"Because, surgery is not my field of expertise." He answered with an easy smile, as he did every time this question was asked. "And even if it was, I'm too old to be doing any surgeries, least of all on brain. But rest assured, doctors operating your brother are best in the field."

Young girl nodded once, and focused back on screen.

Not ten seconds later, red dot in upper right corner of the screen flickered and disappeared.

"What happened?!" Twelve year old Rubin Arc shouted.

"Surgery ended in success." Gepetto answered calmly, election sigh of relief from the whole family.

"So, what's next? You said there will be two more operations, right?" Asked Arthur.

Doctor nodded, turning to man.

"Yes. There will be at least one day of break - both to let Jaune rest,and to make sure there are no complications. If everything will be ok, day after tomorrow we will be able to attach first batch of supporting implants."

"Only one day? Will that be enough?"

"Of course. For civilians, we usually take at least a week, but things change when Aura is involved."

Arthur nodded. As Hunter, he knew full well how much of a bullshit Aura was. Frankly, the amount of punishment average Hunter could take was ridiculous.

"So, how this device works anyway? And why you say support implants?" Asked Victoria Arc.

Gepetto hummed, considering answer for a moment.

"I'm afraid that details regarding this implants functioning are a bit too complicated for me to explain. But to put it simply - main implant, the one attached directly to Jaune's brain, will convert electrical signals from his brain to Aura impulses, that then will be received by support implants, and either converted back to an electrical signal, or, if damage to nervous system is too big, spread over body as replacement. Main difference is that main implant is much more complicated device, since it not only has to distinguish what kind of signal it is receiving, but send it to the correct part of the body. Support implants, are just transit stations."

He looked up, a small smile on his lips.

"Interestingly enough, this process is very similar to what Jaune did to be able to move fingers in his arm. That's why I have high hopes for him. Not only does he have Aura, and can control it very well, something that, unfortunately, is required to make use of this implants at this moment, he already is capable of doing something similar. I'm sure that we will be able to perfect them in no time. And what remarkable technology it is! Culmination of nearly thirty years of research. Once we perfect it we could…"

"Umm, doctor?"

He paused, taking notice of Arc family, straight at him, wide-eyed. Gepetto coughed into his hand, and looked to the side, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry about that. I tend to get excited when I talk about my inventions, especially if I spend a lot of time on them. And this particular one is something I'm especially proud off, since…" He paused took a deep breath, and shook his head.

"Look at me, getting excited again. I'm truly sorry about this." He said, bowing his head slightly.

Victoria let out a small chuckle.

"No need to apologise, doctor. You brought us hope, so I think we can all forgive you if you want to gloat about your research a little."

"And I find this rather interesting." said Cere, second oldest daughter of Arc family.

"If you don't mind Doctor, what is the advantage of this technology over existing methods? From what I know, Atlas already uses biotic prosthesis for a long time now, and you mention other models of this implant?"

Old man smiled brightly. Arthur and Victoria sighed. Man looked like an excited child, about to nerd out about his favorite topic.

"Excellent question. You see, currently most prosthesis are based on first model of implants Jaune received. They can perform basic movements, allowing patients to perform everyday tasks more easily, but that's it. We can create more advanced models, that feels almost like a normal limb, but those are not yet available to the public. "

"Implant that Jaune just received is much more advanced. It's capable of monitoring and alerting signal coming directly from the brain. This gives it a much bigger range of potential applications. In theory, it could help fix many different problems - like lost hearing, or sight, respiratory system disorders, and many, many more. On top of that, since unlike previous models, it is possible for this implant to receive signals from support implants, and direct them to the brain, we could, in theory, create prosthesis that not only feels like normal limb - but act like it.

"That's impressive." said Cere. She tilted her head to the side, on finger on her mouth, thinking about something.

"If it's not too much trouble" she began smiling at old doctor." Could you please tell me…"

Arthur looked at his wife, and they both let out tired sigh. They managed to forget how much Cere liked learning new things. It didn't matter what subject - if it caught her interest, she would want to know everything there was about it.

One quick glance revealed that rest of the daughters were already on they scrolls.

With a shrug, Arthur grabbed some magazine, while his wife pulled notepad, and started scribbling something in it.

They will be staying there for awhile.

* * *

Around three hours later Arc family, accompanied by Gepetto, entered Jaune's room. Young boy woke up just thirty minutes ago,and after some check ups they were allowed to visit him.

Connection formed as soona s they entered. Jaune was tired, dizzy, but happy and enthusiastic. This put them at ease. It was hard to hide something when link formed, so if he was in pain, they would know.

They walked closer, and back part of Jaune bed started lifting, allowing him to sit. Dr Geppetto walked closer, and turned June's head, revealing its back.

Arthur winced at what he saw, and at startled gasps of his wife and daughters.

_Well, this doesn't look too pretty._

There were no hairs on the back of Jaune's head, instead big metal plate covered it. It started around half of the neck, and went up, covering about half of the skull. He could see several small holes, that looked like sockets of some kind.

It probably could be covered, at least partially, if Jaune let his hair grow long. But it still didn't look well.

Doctor Polendina noticed they reactions and send them reassuring smile.

"Please don't worry. I know this doesn't look pretty, but most of what you see is just support attachments, needed for initial phases of rehabilitation. Most of this will be removed later on. All that will remain visible from main implant will be oval plate, no more than two centimeters in diameter.

"I see. And this support implants?" asked Arthur.

"They will not be visible from outside. Only thing that could potentially remain are post-surgery scars, but I suspect his Aura will take care of that."

All Arcs visibly relaxed after hearing that. Gepetto spend few moments checking something on his scroll, then excused himself.

Arthur could help big smile that formed on his lips when he sat next to his son. It all seemed so surreal. But maybe, just maybe, it will work.

* * *

Victoria Arc watched with a mix of worry and anticipation as Jaune was put into strange, egg-shaped device. Technicians attached some vires to implan, and to... costume he was wearing. It was black, body-fitting, with multiple sockets along Jaune's spine, on hands and legs. On his head was strange helmet, with multiple wires and tubes going out of it.

After few more check ups, technicians closed lid, and one of them taped his scroll a few times. Small display screen on the lid flicked to life, displaying two words: "Simulation Active".

Technicians nodded, and left to check up on thirty or so similar devices in the room.

"So… what does this do?" Asked Rubin Arc.

"Its Virtual Reality Simulator. This machine will allow us to 'teach' implant your son has how to interpret different signals sent by his brain. This, combined with few other exercises, should speed up Jaune's recover."

Arthur's hummed, looking machine over couriusly.

"I don't want to question you, Doctor, but why use simulation instead of regular rehabilitation methods? I would imagine that giving Jaune some exercise now would be a good idea, since he spent five years just lying in bed."

Gepetto shook his head.

"There are two main reasons why we use virtual simulation. First, like I mentioned, Jaune's implant needs some adjustments before it can perform its task. Before that happens, he will not be able to move properly, so any kind of physical therapy will be ineffective, or even straight out impossible. Second reason is Jaune physical condition. He still needs more time to fully recover from his surgery, and there is no telling if we will not have to perform more. We need to monitor him for some time, to make sure there are no complications with his implants. In the meantime, this simulations will help strengthen his body a bit."

Arthur shoot him a look.

"Wait, how lying in this… thing will help with his muscles being too weak?"

"We don't know for sure, but it was proven that mental exercises can lead to strengthening of muscles. There were some research done on the subject, and even though participants did not increase they muscle mass, they indeed showed improvement in physical tests." Gepetto shrugged "Like I said, we don't know for sure why this happens, some people theorize it might be because this method allows people to use they muscles more effectively. Whatever the reason, it works, and it's ideal solution for cases such as Jaune's."

Victoria walked up, and placed one hand on device holding her son. She just stood there for a few moments, staring.

"How long will it take?" She asked finally, turning towards doctor.

"I'm afraid I can't tell. Like I said - what Jaune got is new technology. It might be a week, a month, or a year. But please rest assured that your son will have the best possible care for whatever long it will take."

* * *

Gepetto leaned back in his chair, letting out a heavy sigh. Three weeks have passed since Jaune's surgery. They had to perform third one, to install additional support implants, forty eight in total. Readings they got from Jaune's implants were good. Very good.

Or were they?

Dr. Polendian hummed. He hated it when he had only one source of data. That meant there was nothing he could compare it to. Sure, he could use data collected from other patients - but none of them used the same implant as Jaune, and no one had similar condition as he.

With yet another sigh doctor looked back at the screen of his computer. Jaune was currently in another simulation - simple shooting range game. From what he saw, there was little to no lag between targets appearing, and Jaune reacting to them. That meant that implant no longer needed conscious effort to process signals from his eyes.

He observed for few moments as young boy shoots virtual Grimm. At first he was clumsy at it, as expected. It was the first time they were testing his reaction against fast moving targets. But after only two minutes or so, young boy was taking down Grimm after Grimm without much trouble.

After observing simulation for a few moments, old doctor decided to _slightly _adjust difficulty. Virtual Grimm Jaune fought suddenly become faster and tougher. They no longer charged at him in a straight line, instead they spread out, some flanking him, some attacking from the front. There was more variety of them too - instead of just Beowolves, Ursa's and Nevermore started appearing. Not only that, they stopped dying after just one shot - one had to aim for vital areas such as head, or heart (if Grimm even had one) to take them out.

After initial surprise, and two 'deaths' Jaune, quickly changed his tactic. He was now shooting faster Beowolves in the legs, causing them to fall, and slow down the rest of the attacker. He focused on flying targets first, then took closest wolf-like Grimm. If any Ursa got close, he would cripple it, and focus on other threats, finishing it off only if it got too close, or there were no other threats close by.

Since this time simulation didn't include whole body - they wanted to focus on very specific data - Jaune couldn't exactly move to avoid incoming monsters. If he could, Gepetto had no doubt that young boy would be retreating, looking for cover whenever there was one available.

After ten more minutes, and few more 'adjustments', Dr. Polendian ended simulation. He sent instructions to bring Jaune back to his room, and he himself focused on data gathered from this session. There were few spikes In Aura activity, followed closely by very high, but very short burst in amount of data input to main implant.

Old doctor activated second screen, and started comparing logs from other virtual tests Jaune went trough this week. After a few moments of browsing, he started playing records from this test side-by-side with logs.

Pattern was clear. At first Jauen would struggle. Then, after some time, this sudden burst in activity would occur, and immediately after that Jaune starts performing his tasks without much trouble.

What was even more interesting was that after every time it happened, implants performance increased across the board.

Gepetto, leaned back into his chair, staring at data in front of him. It was too much. They expected it to take at least two months for Jaune to reach this level, not three weeks.

Was it because implant was easier to use than they expected? If Jaune was getting used to using this device subconsciously, it would explain why he was getting better than predicted results, and much faster.

Or maybe it was because Jaune's excellent Aura control that device performed outside they expectation? This could be a reason too. Afterall young boy proved he can already use his Aura to augment his nervous system.

_Or maybe…_

Gepetto thought, checking logs of VR machines Jaune was connected to.

_...he had some help?_

* * *

**Well, Jaune got to atlas and got his implants. This chapter was interesting to write. I wanted 'science' mentioned here to be at least a little plausible, not some crazy bs that borderlines science-fantasy. So I started doing some research, and was VERY surprised to learn just how far technology went. Did you guys knew that there are arm prosthesis that can read impulses your brain sends to your muscles and move accordingly? It was a strange feeling that, like, 90% 'crazy' stuff I come up with that I thought only explanation for was 'crazy Remnant tech' is actually not only possible, but exist in our own world.**

**Anyway, see you all next week.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Welcome to CH 4 of P:A. JJD worked hard to contain this madness.**

**JJD: Let madness rein!**

* * *

It happened somewhere at the beginning of the second week. They moved him to different VR room than usual, and put him into a different machine. The exercise he was supposed to do today was an easy one. There was a big, green button in front of him, and two square screens, with various pictures appearing on them. He had to 'push' this button when the pictures on both screens matched.

The doctors explained that it was an exercise to improve the speed at which his implant processed information.

It was going… badly to be honest. The pictures lasted for around ten seconds before changing, and he didn't hit single one. It was after around ten minutes, several increases in time limit, and yet another failure that he picked up traces of… something else. It was emotion, very vague one, and it took Jaune a few moments to realize what it was.

Curiosity.

It wasn't his, for sure. He was feeling mostly irritated at this point, so that meant that there was another person in this simulation, watching him. Was it one of the doctors? Or maybe a nurse? He had a vague feeling that whoever this was, was female, but he couldn't tell for sure.

He decided against trying to reach out and touch this strange Aura signal, instead focusing on his task.

It remained there, barely noticeable, just observing him.

After five more minutes his task ended, and the strange presence vanished. Jaune was transported back to his room.

More tests followed, and each time he could feel this presence. As curious as he was himself, he refrained from trying to connect with it everytime.

* * *

The first time they had contact was Wednesday. He was doing the stupid 'push the button' game again. It was going better than the first time, but lag still was excessive. He was getting more and more frustrated - not only at his inability to perform such a simple task, but also at his mysterious companion.

_She could help, instead of just watching._ He thought. Not that Jaune expected it to happen - this was virtual reality after all. One couldn't just hop in and push the damn button for him. And even if they could - Jaune wasn't sure if that was a good idea. After all, this exercise was meant to make his implant work better, someone doing this task for him could hinder his recovery - something he was not willing to risk. So yeah, no way this person, whoever they were, could help him.

Expect that, apparently, they could.

After a few more failed attempts, when Jaune was considered giving up, his observer did _something._

He wasn't sure what, but it was like a hole was put in the dam that prevented him from doing what he wanted. Up until now, it took around twenty five to thirty seconds from the moment he focused on pushing the button, to moment his implant processed the command and send it out.

Now it had dropped to fifteen. After a few more attempts, he finally succeeded, with around nine seconds of lag.

Overjoyed with his success, he did basically the soul equivalent of a spontaneous hug - he used his Semblance to send out a burst of Aura toward this presence. He just wanted to convey his joy and gratitude for the help.

He didn't expect he will be able to form a full link.

The connection lasted only for the briefest of moments, but it was enough for his message to reach its recipient. And for Jaune to pick some of their emotions.

Shock, fear, uncertainty, satisfaction.

It was an odd mix, and it took Jaune a moment to realize what it meant. Whoever helped him, wasn't expecting to be noticed. And wasn't supposed to be here - or help him. Possibly both.

There was something else there, but he wasn't sure what it was. Only that, in some strange way, it felt familiar.

Jaune sighed - mentally. He hoped he hadn't scared whoever it was away. He really wanted to know more about them - what with them being only the third person outside his family he was able to connect to.

* * *

Jaune was determined. Not to complete his task.

No, scratch that. Of course he was determined to complete his current task. It was his rehabilitation after all!

It's just that he had new, self imposed mission. Find the person who had helped him, and return the favor. How? It was simple. By becoming their friend. Because, just a few hours after, when his family left him alone in his room, he realized what the strange emotion he picked up.

Loneliness.

Whoever this person was, they were very, very lonely. There were very few options available for Jaune to help anyone. But if all it took was to be this person's friend? That he could do.

So since the last meeting, he was on the lookout for the mysterious person.

* * *

Nothing. Not a single contact. It was Sunday evening, and Jaune hadn't picked up a single trace of them since that first accidental contact.

Did he scare them away? Were they caught, and punished for helping him?

_Way to help them Jaune. Really, great job. _He thought bitterly, his hover-chair moving quietly behind the nurse.

Ah yes - chair, not bed. After a whole week of tests and check-ups, it turned out Jaune was capable of remaining in a sitting position on his own. He still needed help to rise - but it was mostly because his muscles were too weak, not because he couldn't move them at all. He still had a way to go before he could even consider walking - but hey, it was progress!

That also meant that he will soon start physical rehabilitation. It made him happy. It truly did.

He just wished he could meet the person who helped him reach this point.

He winced. This was another welcome change. He could move his mouth. The muscles in his throat still didn't work properly, so he wouldn't be able to eat normal food for a while, but he was very close to being able to speak normally. For now all he could do was let out some groans and moans, but doctors said it was only a matter of time now.

The nurse stopped and opened the door, and Jauen entered a room he didn't recognize. This one was bigger than the previous ones, even bigger than the one he was brought to to enter VR for the first time. There were at least fifty machines there, some of them in use.

A few moments later, Jaune was hooked up to his own, the lid closing above him.

He was surprised that, after he connected, he didn't see the usual white space, with big blue-ish letters floating in front of him, informing him what task he needs to perform.

Instead, he was in some spacious room, with wooden walls and furniture. There was even a fireplace, with a few logs burning in it.

Oh and people. About twenty of them milled around, talking, laughing, and playing board games. At first Jaune though they weren't real, but soon realized that he could feel them with his Semblance.

It was weird though. Some people were easier to read than others. A few he couldn't 'feel' at all. Sure, it was harder to touch the Aura of someone that was very far away, but this room was too small for anyone to be out of his range.

Jaune spent the next hour or so just talking with other people there. They seemed to be as excited by seeing a new face as he was. He learned that there were all patients, all of them with implants, or prostheses. This simulation was sort of recreational spot, created so even patients who couldn't leave they rooms could meet with other people. And after learning that a few of them - the ones he couldn't even feel - were from different clinics, he realized why he had trouble detecting some people there.

They were too far. Not in the simulation, distance there didn't matter. It depended on how far away they physical bodies are from each other.

After around three hours of playing games, talking, laughing, and listening to stories of one older man who was Hunter, here to receive a replacement for his old leg prosthesis, Jaune suddenly got an idea.

If it was proximity between their real bodies that determined how well he can read people in VR - and in hindsight that was obvious - could it be that the reason he was no longer able to detect this mysterious presence was not because they were avoiding him, but simply because they were too far apart?

And now that he thought about it, didn't they start taking him to different VR room since Thursday?

Jaune nodded to himself. That made sense. Maybe if he could go back to that room, he could catch contact again. It probably wouldn't be easy, seeing as he was a cripple, and all, but it's not like he had a lot of things to do in his free time.

* * *

Jaune felt conflicted. He didn't pay much attention to the technicians hooking him up to the now very familiar machine, in the very familiar room. He spent most of his Sunday planing how he could go back to this one particular room.

Turned out it was as easy as asking the nurse that came to check on him before he fell asleep. She smiled, nodded, and promised to let the doctors know. And sure enough, Monday morning he was taken to the familiar room.

Jaune took a deep breath to steady himself when the lid of his capsule began to close. It was the moment of truth - would they be there? Or not?

* * *

_Ok, calm now. Don't rush it, or you will screw it up again._

It was there. He could feel the same presence. It was faint, barely noticeable, but it was there. As much as he wanted to, he didn't try to form a connection. It wouldn't do to scare them away, would it?

So instead he focused on his task. It was a simple obstacle course. He had to run, jump over a few logs, climb over the wall, and slide down the rope.

Easy.

Well, not as easy as he thought. Mostly because his legs didn't seem to work exactly how he wanted them to. He was able to move forward without falling, but it was more of a slow walk, with him satgereign all the time. One time he tried to jump, he just tripped over his own legs and fallen to the ground.

Good thing there was no pain in this VR. Otherwise after just half an hour he would be too beaten up to move. With huff of annoyance he tried yet again.

And then again. And again.

After yet another failed attempt, he decided to just lay for a while in virtual dirt. It was a strange sensation. He could feel solid surface that he was lying on, but it didn't feel like ground.

Or so he thought. He hadn't had much contact with the real one in over five years. A quick check confirmed that his mysterious guardian angel was still there, watching him. With an internal sigh he got up, and resumed his exercise.

He was slowly getting better at this, now able to maintain a slow jog without tripping. It wasn't what he wanted, but hey - it was progress.

_OK, one more time. I got this far, can't give up now. _He thought, starting his course again.

And then it happened. Just before he reached the first log, he got this feeling again - as if someone invisible dam had been broken. He could feel this strange person doing something, though he still had no idea what that could be.

Without thinking, he jumped over first log tripped, rolled, and clumsy got up. A big grin on his face was only partially because he finally succeed.

They were close. Very close. He had no idea how it really worked, since there was no physical body to speak off, but they presence felt so close, he was almost sure he would see them if he turned around. Which he did, just to make sure.

_Ok, now carefully. _

He concentrated, and reached towards his companion. He didn't try to form a link, just barely touched them, and paused. They backed off at first, but he waited patiently. After a few agonizingly long seconds, he felt their Aura touch. He smiled, and focused on forging a full link.

The moment it formed, he gasped, only partially because he was so distracted he ran into wall he was supposed to climb. No, the real reason was because what he felt and saw when the link finally formed.

Pure.

That was the only word he could think of to describe this person. Their Aura, their soul was just so pure, like freshly fallen snow. This sensation was so overwhelming that he just stood there, basking in its beauty.

He didn't even notice when the simulation ended. Only when several panicked doctors started talking to him, someone screaming to bring life support equipment, someone else talking through their scroll very fast, Jaune realized he probably should let them know he was ok.

Just as he wondered how exactly he could do that, what with him not being able to talk yet, he noticed something strange. There was something wet trailing down his face.

_Am I… crying?_

There was a pang of worry that washed over him - one that was not his.

Jaune wiped his tears, and focused on the link again, ready to assure his new friend that everything was ok. And then he paused.

His hand. It moved.

It wasn't just a tiny wiggle of fingers. It wasn't jerky movement he sometimes managed. His arm moved normally, exactly how he wanted it to.

Well, almost. It was still hard to move it around - what with his degenerated muscles and all, but that was beside the point. He could move his hand! And after a quick check it turned out it was true for both of them.

The doctors' chatter turned from worried to excited, but Jaune paid them no mind. He was too busy marveling at this revelation. He could move his arms. For the first time in five years, he could freely move his limbs. Sure, not all of them - his legs still wouldn't listen to him. But his arms - even though they were heavy, and clumsy, and there were this pain he was just starting to notice, but all of this didn't matter at all.

He let out a quiet, hoarse chuckle. He knew exactly who to thank for this sudden development, even before he felt a wave of satisfaction from his new friend. He had a strange feeling that she would be smirking at him if she stood there.

_I really have to come up with some way to repay her. I don't think becoming her friend would be enough._

Oh well, he'd figure something out. For now he probably should start answering at least some of the questions doctors were asking him.

* * *

Turns out having feeling in your body meant you had to deal with, well, feeling things. Like for pain for example. It started out slowly, but as feeling in different parts of his body returned, pain intensified too. Doctors assured him it was a normal, good sign - it meant his nervous system was working again. But it still was annoying as hell.

Following his Monday session, his body started to gradually 'boot up' as one of the doctors put this. Sure, he was still weak, but he no longer needed help to move from his bed to his hover-chair, he could also speak, even though his voice was hoarse, and he could eat normal food. Well, normal-ish. He still couldn't bite or swallow properly, but he was getting better.

Now, almost three weeks after, he finally started physical rehabilitation.

And it sucked. Hard.

Jaune never thought he would miss lacking feeling in his body, but he certainly was now, after his first session. It didn't last long - only about an hour or so - but it felt like an eternity for him. And it wasn't anything special either. Just some basic exercises.

Well, putting it like that was a bit of a stretch. All he managed to do was to lift his left leg a few centimeters up few times. His right one still wasn't working properly.

Jaune briefly considered asking his new friend for help, but discarded idea. First of all, he doubted that whoever this was, they could magically regrow his muscles. And even if they could - he wouldn't want to depend on them for everything. This might be just his pride talking - but considering they were assisting him in almost every exercise he did in virtual reality, he wanted to do things on his own in... well, in the 'real' reality.

Though his resolve took a pretty big hit after the first day, he didn't give up. His family visiting him certainly helped his mood. Initially. He felt the unease as soon as they entered the room, but couldn't figure out what might have caused it. Eventually his mother decided to tell him - and all he could do was stare at them for a few moments, trying his best to not start crying.

"So… you're leaving?" he choked out.

His mother hugged him tightly.

"Not all of us. Your father accepted a job here in Atlas, so he will be staying. And Crystal is trying to find a way to transfer to Atlas Combat Academy. So you won't be alone. But the rest of the girls have to go back to school."

Jaune sighed. Of course he understood. It was stupid of him to think his family would be able to stay in Atlas for whole duration of his recovery.

"And we leave on Saturday, so we still have three days to ourselves."

The blond boy looked over his family. His mother wore an apologetic expression. His sisters clung to him desperately, cleary not wanting to leave him alone. His father…

He was looking at Jaune, an unreadable expression on his face. The blond boy took a deep breath to steady himself. He knew this day would come. He wouldn't let his family worry about him, he had so send them off with a smile and firm resolve.

So that's what he did. He smiled, and nodded.

"Sure thing. Guess we will have to throw some kind of party? But without dancing please. The doctors said that I need to exercise, but I think dancing is a bit too much for me for now…" His sisters chuckled, graciously agreeing to grand him his request.

All tension gone, they continued to talk for almost an hour, leaving only because exhaustion from whole day started to catch up to Jaune.

Before he had fallen asleep something occurred to him.

_I probably should introduce her to them. Somehow._

* * *

Doctor Gepetto looked over the graphs and frowed. Jaune Arc was recovering fast. Much faster that they expected. Not even a month had passed since his surgery, and he was ready to begin physical rehabilitation.

While it ought to make him happy - and it did, don't get him wrong - they expected implants needing at least a few months to properly sync themselves with Jaune's nervous system. This rate of progress was far beyond anything they predicted.

There were only two explanations for this that old scientist could think of. Either the boy's Semblance, they were usual culprit when it came to unexpected occurrences, or outside help.

He hummed and checked graphs again. They looked very similar. At first the implants' performance was poor, as expected. But after a few minutes, there were sudden improvement. It wasn't gradual increase, as it should be. It was as if someone flipped a switch.

Gepetto leaned back in his chair, idly checking various logs. There was nothing that indicated outside interference - not that he could think of any way someone could actually interfere in the process. Even if they did hack into they systems, and somehow changed settings of simulations Jaune was going through, it wouldn't really achieve anything.

They could try to hack into implants OS, and change something there but… He would know if that happened. And besides that - he honestly couldn't imagine anyone managing to change anything in this particular OS. Any hacker that would break in, and try to mess with it, wouldn't be able to comprehend what he was seeing. He should know - he was the one who made it, and could hardly believe in what it could do.

It was of course possible that their simulations were wrong. It wouldn't be the first time, thought usually the real life test of new inventions had results worse that simulations, not the other way around.

It also might have some to do with Jaune's Semblance, or his unusually good Aura control, or a million other reasons.

He sighed and shook his head. There was no point thinking too deeply about it. He would ask the person in charge of monitoring their systems to keep an eye on any suspicious activity, but it probably wouldn't be needed.

For now, he needed to pay a visit to Jaune. It had been a while since he had the chance to talk with the young man.

* * *

When Gepetto walked into the room of his newest patient, it was to see young boy grinning smugly, and his family sitting around, mixed expressions on the faces. Some looked conflicted, some surprised, a few downright shocked.

"So?" Jaune asked with innocent voice "Nothing to say?"

"Ok, ok, no need to rub it in. We were wrong and we are sorry." answered his oldest sister. Crystal, if he recalled correctly.

"But you can't blame us! I mean, you spend most of your time either in your room, or in this strange machine playing games!" one of twins whined. The doctor wasn't sure which one - a slight difference in coloration of the eyes was the only thing that could help tell them apart.

"Oh? And what exactly did Jaune do this time?" Gepetto asked, walking into the room.

All the Arcs turned to him, and smiled. One of twin sisters, then the one who was complaining earlier ran up to him, an odd mixture of shock and excitement on her face.

"Doctor! Jaune got himself a girlfriend!"

He blinked, surprised. It didn't help that no one made any effort to correct young girl, expect of Jaune, who blushed fiercely and started sputtering denials. It was truly interesting news - and very unlikely. Just like the young girl said, Jaune didn't have much time, or chance, to interact with people his age.

"I think I will need some context for this one…"

"So Jaune told us he made a new friend, and we thought he was just joking, or that he got hurt in the head and imagined her. But when we linked she was there! It's not fair!" both twins said in unison, pouting at the end.

Jaune shook his head, a small amused smirk on his lips.

"See? That is what you get for not believing your older brother."

"So, who is this mysterious girl? I'm pretty sure there no many patients around your age in the clinic right now." Asked Gepetto.

"Well.." Jaune rubbed the back of his head. " The thing is... I don't know?"

All eyes focused on him, causing blood to laugh nervously again.

"I just felt her Aura one time and accidently linked with her. And we were hanging out since then… I mean - through my link. Because we've never met in person." he trailed off.

"So Doctor, any idea who it might be? Considering the fact that my son didn't imagine this person, it would be nice for them to actually meet."

Gepetto hummed, stroking his chin. This was interesting. He could swear there were no female patients that Jaune interacted with, at least not recently. Not only that, most patients in this we were much older than young Arc. There weren't really any other kids. Well, beside…

His eyes widened. Could it be?

"Please, excuse me, I need to check something." without waiting for an answer, he left the surprised family behind. He almost ran towards his office, starling several nurses on the way. He could hear them calling after him, asking what happened, but he just waved them off. If he was right about this…

He burst into his office, barely remembering to lock the door. A quick voice command caused the shelves on one wall to slide open, revealing a hidden room. It was twice as big as his office, but most of the free space was covered in shelves with various documents. In the center stood a lone desk with single computer on it. This was his 'vault' - the place where he stored data that he didn't want anyone to see, or shelved - no pun intended - projects.

Only he knew about this place - and a single computer here was cut off from any outside networks. It was it that Geppetto focused on. He decided to store most data from Jaune's therapy here. It might be paranoia on his part - he did plan to make results public at some point - but he just had this feeling.

Now, onto the task at hand. All he needed to do was to compare logs from the time Jaune had his spike in performance with… There!

He smiled. Now that he knew what to look for, he was surprised he hadn't noticed it earlier. It was so obvious, right in front of his eyes.

Now, what should he do? His first thought was to pretend he had no idea who Jaune's new friend was. He could take steps to prevent them from interacting ever again. And it would be for the best for both of them. Afterall, what they gave Jaune was experimental technology. They needed all the data they could get to make sure it worked properly. Any outside influence made data gathered less valuable, if not completely obsolete.

Yes, that was the best choice. Or was it?

Gepetto hummed, lost in thought. Sure, their interventions messed with their data. But they provided a lot of information on other aspects. It became clear very fast that the mk3 implants are very... troublesome to operate. Most patients that received them complained about numerous side-effects. Intense headaches, or temporal loss of some senses were among the most common. They hoped a younger patient, with Aura to help them, would be able to control implants more easily.

It proved true, at least partially. Jaune didn't suffer as strong side effects, but he had trouble with coordinating his movements until he received help from his little friend. Sure, he might have been able to do it on his own. But then again, maybe this was the key? Maybe people just needed some push, someone to help them control their implants?

Gepeto spun in his chair, lost in thought. There were so many possibilities, so many choices. Each with their own merits and dangers. Which one should he choose?

Eventually his eyes fell on a thick cardboard folder. Gepetto paused, staring at it for a few moments. Eventually he stood up, and slowly walked towards the simple shelves in front of him and pulled the folder out. A strange sense of melancholy washed over him. It was his first big project. He was young back then, so naive and optimistic.

And childish, as some would say. This project? Best proof of that. Twice he tired to complete it, and twice he failed. At first it was just a crazy idea, something he attempted only because he had money and resources to do so. No one expected success, not even him, so it wasn't a big disappointed when it ended in failure. They just didn't have technology to make it work back then. But what he learned from those experiments were foundations for mk1 Neural Implant.

His second attempt was much more ambitious. And he almost succeeded.

Almost.

They were close, so very close, but just couldn't make it work in a way that was worth the investment. Add to that his… disagreements with his _associates_ about the future of the project, and it potential applications, and it was eventually canceled. But things he learned from it served as foundations for many other researches.

He idly skimmed through pages, he knew their content well. Even after all these years, he sometimes checked this folder, reviewing his old notes. This time he paused on the last page, last entry on second attempt. It was a list of problems that made it a failure. And as Geppetto read them over, an idea started forming in his head.

It was a crazy one. Ridiculous even.

But weren't most brilliant discovered born out of ideas like that?

Gepetto smiled, and left the vault, thick folder held firmly in his hand.

They do say that the third time's a charm, don't they?

* * *

**And here we go. Jaune makes some small progress with the help of his mysterious friend, and Gepetto is scheming something. Just what kind of trouble poor boy got himself into? **

**See you all next week.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome to Ch 5. **

* * *

"We are here." Said Gepetto, stopping in front of seemingly random doors. They didn't look any different than any others they saw in clinic, besides maybe the fact there weren't any rooms nearby.

The old scientist turned to the small crowd that was following him, and smiled.

"I hope you will understand that all of you can't enter. Her condition is a bit… special." The Arc's nodded, some more reluctantly than others. "Very well. In that case, Jaune, Arthur, please follow me." Gepetto said, entering a code on the terminal next to the door. They opened, revealing not a room, but corridor.

"So, what's up with this girl? The only thing you said was that her condition is special. What do you mean by that?" Asked Arthur, when the doors closed behind them.

"Please, wait a bit longer. We are almost to her room. I'll explain once we are there."

True to his words, they soon reached another set of doors. Arthur couldn't help but shake his head at the amount of security measures. Not only were the first doors they passed were heavily reinforced, he noticed several hidden cameras in the seemingly empty corridor they passed. And now this? He watched idly as Dr. Gepetto entered three different codes on three different keypads, perform an iris and hand scan, before pressing access card to a small scanner. The doors in front of them opened with a hiss, and Arthur quickly entered, pushing his son's hover chair in front of him. Both Arcs looked over the room couriusly.

It was big, much bigger than most others they had visited. And there were no beds here, or any other furniture, save from a simple desk and chair. Most of the room was filled with some strange machinery. Arthur had to suppress a shudder. This looked like a scene from some cheap horror sci fi movie.

He looked over the room again, his eyes stopping at a familiar looking machine sitting in the center of the room. It resembled one of the VR pods Jaune was using for his therapy, but looked… different. More complicated. Was this where they kept this girl?

"As you probably figured out, she is not your ordinary patient. I can't share details with you, I hope you do understand. What I can tell is that she is stuck in this room and, unfortunately, we have no means to change that." he looked at both of them, his expression determined.

"Yet."

Gepetto walked to the pod and stared at it for a few moments in silence.

"It was my hope that those implants would be what will eventually help her leave this room. But…" he sighed, and shook his head "Progres is slow. Too slow." he muttered quietly.

After a moment of silence, Gepetto suddenly turned to Jaune, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Jaune, I need to ask this. I know you said you linked with her, but tell me, how does it feel? Is it… normal? Like when you link with other people? Or does she seem… different?"

Jaune chuckled nervously.

"I'm not sure how to answer that. Everyone's different. My mom feels different than dad, or my sisters. Even the twins feel different from each other.

He shrugged.

"If I had to find something strange, it would be that she feels more… spread? Normally I can tell where people I link with are, at least vaguely, but with her… it's hard for me to point to a single place. I don't know, it's hard to explain."

"But you _can_ feel her, right? Her soul, her emotions, they are like any other person's, right?"

Jaune stared at the older man. Those were strange questions, but there was some urgency in his voice that made young boy pause, and seriously consider them.

That, and the sheer desperation that he could feel coming out of old Doctor. Something wasn't right, he just knew it.

"Doctor, maybe if you stopped beating around the bush and just told us what's going on, this would be easier. Just who the hell is that girl?" Asked Arthur Arc.

The old doctor sighed, and motioned for them to follow. They stepped closer to the capsule sitting in the center of the room. They could see a green-ish light coming out of it, but not who was inside. There was some writing on the back of the device, and Jaune squinted his eyes to read it.

"A few years back, during the development of AI for Atlesian Knights, something unexpected happened." Gepetto, hummed, lost in thought."I won't bore you with details. Suffice to say, that somehow, we created a true AI. One that showed much greater analytical potential than what we ever expected. And one that started to show signs of developing a personality."

The old doctor smiled bitterly.

"The council went nuts when they learned about it. Demanded it be destroyed immediately. That it's threat to world peace, and so on. Heh, I can't really blame them, I was pretty scared myself. But I couldn't bring myself to destroy it. Instead, I copied some of its data, and transferred it onto my private server. It took months, but I was able to develop it to the point it could hold a normal conversation, and no one could tell the difference between it and a normal person."

Gepetto turned, looking at Jaune.

"So there you have it, my boy. This is the truth about your friend. She is not a normal girl - she is a program. She wasn't born, she was created. Well, I'm not sure if referring to her as a girl is right either - one could argue she is not even a person."

Jaune tilted his head to the side.

"Eh? What are you talking about? She's a perfectly normal girl."

Gepetto stared at Jaune, an unreadable expression on his face.

Jaune stared at Gepetto, confused.

Arthur Arc stared at both of them, unsure what to say. Or if he should be saying anything at all.

"Normal?" The old doctor repeated after a long pause.

"Well... yeah." said Jaune with a shrug. "I can feel her emotions. I can reach out and touch her soul. I could feel her anticipation, anxiety, fear, excitement, and happiness. Her frustration, and uncertainty. She _is _a person, in all the ways that matter. The fact she started out as a program, or that she doesn't even have body?" He shrugged. "t doesn't matter. Not to me anyway."

The old scientist calm facade crumbled, a broad smile slowly appearing.

"Thank you, Jaune. You have no idea how much those words mean to me."

He sighed, smacking his head.

"But I'll have to ask you to keep what you learned here today a secret. There are some people that would seek to… use her. Or harm her."

Jaune nodded.

"Of course. But I have to ask - why tell and show us all of this?" Asked Arthur.

Gepetto stayed silent for a few moments before speaking.

"Because I want to ask you a favor. Jaune specifically." He pulled his scroll, tapped a few buttons, and placed on a nearby table. The holographic image of some graphs appeared. Both Arcs stared at them for a few moments, and after deciding that no, they don't have any idea what they represented, turned towards Geppetto.

"This is data from Jaune's rehabilitation." he said, pointing at a few graphs. "We noticed unusual spikes in implants activity, allowing Jaune to progress faster than we anticipated. It surprised us at first, but now I know it's because he had a little help."

Jaune chuckled nervously, his cheeks reddening.

"While it does make this data less valuable for its initial purpose - that is further development of this implant, it also showed some new possibilities. In theory, it shouldn't be possible for an outside source to affect Jaune's progress in any way. And even if it were to happen, it definitely shouldn't be a permanent change. I have no idea if it became possible thanks to these new implants we used, Jaune's Semblance, or a mix of both."

Gepetto stared at the young boy for a few moments, before sighing and turning back to the capsule.

"Technology we used to create the implant you have was initially meant to be used in different projects. It failed, but what I learned was very… enlightening. To put it simply - I want to create a body for Penny. One that is as close to a human one as possible. Building a robotic frame that _looks_ like a human shouldn't be too difficult, but there are other problems - like movement. It's very hard to create a bipedal machine that could move around with the same grace as humans do."

"So, what does this have to do with me? I don't know anything about making robots."

"I said I wanted to ask you for a favor Jaune. Back then I said it was just to help develop these implants. That wasn't the whole truth though. Your implant can also function as an extremely precise scanner. If you agree, I could re-calibrate it to perform very detailed scans of your body. The way your muscles operate, how your nervous system works and reacts to different stimulation, and so on. This data should, in time, allow me to create a body that will not only allow here to live among humans, but to perceive the world as we do. But…"

"Ok."

Gepetto blinked in surprise. Jaune just shrugged.

"I'll do it. If you say it will help…" he paused, then chuckled nervously.

"Ummm. This might be late, but…" he grinned. " What is her name?"

Geppetto stared at him for a moment, then laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry." he chuckled, and tapped the capsule with a fond smile.

"Penny. Her name is Penny Polendina."

Jaune grinned. Arthur sighed.

"You know what? I have a feeling I shouldn't be letting my underaged son test some experimental technology."

Jaune's eyes zeroed on him instantly, his lower lip trembling.

"Dad…" he said, voice pleading. Arthur just waved his hand.

"Don't give me that look." he sighed. "I understand that you want to help a friend. Especially considering she helped you. And I guess we do own you own doctor."

"So you agree?!"

"I have a feeling that you will do it even if I disagree." Arthur chuckled. "Ok, I won't stop you, but I have conditions. I want to be present on every experiment you will be doing. If I say we stop, we stop. If I decide it's too dangerous, you back off. No discussions. I am understood?"

"Yes." Both Gepetto and Jaune said in unison.

Arthur groaned.

"But damn, your mother will _murder_ me if she finds out."

* * *

"Ok, everything looks to be in order." said the middle aged man, checking the last belt securing young boy to metal frame. "You can begien whenever you are ready." he smiled and sent him a thumbs up.

Jaune returned both the smile and gesture. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he focused on the task at hand.

In front of him was a short track, only five meters or so. His body was attached to a metal frame that, if one would squint they eyes hard enough, could pass as powered armor.

Just without, you know, armor. Or any power source. And it was basically just a few metal pieces connected by belts that helped hold his body stay upright. The only thing that looked even remotely advanced was small electronic device on it's back. It had a few wires coming out of it that were now connected to his implant.

This was the beginning of the second stage of his rehabilitation. Thanks to Penny, his implant worked very well. There was still room for improvement, but the doctors decided there was no point in dealing with physical rehabilitation. It's not that Jaune was complaining, he was just nervous. He could feel the strain on his muscles when he tried to move. He realized full well how weak he was, and that without metal frame around his body, he would fall over, and probably wouldn't be able to even crawl, let alone get up.

_Ok, focus. You can do it. _Jaune took another deep breath, and tried to make the first step in over five years.

It didn't go well. His right leg just wouldn't budge. In fact he couldn't feel it too well either, only a slight tingle from around his thigh that made him wince.

_Maybe it's too early? I could ask for more sessions in VR... _He shook his head, gritting his teeth. He couldn't afford to take it easy. It wasn't just about him after all, he was doing this for his whole family. He didn't want to be a burden for even a second longer than he had to.

Taking another deep breath Jaune focused on the task at hand.

_Move. Come on, just move. _

He growled at his right leg, but the offending limb remained motionless, despite his best efforts. He tried starting with his left, but it led to similar results.

"You ok there? Want us to stop?" asked one of the doctors supervising him.

Jaune just shook his head. No way he was giving up. Not when the stakes were so high.

_Ok, calm down and relax. Try to remember what you felt like in simulations. _The blond boy grit his teeth trying to recall this feeling, a feeling of walking, running, unhindered. But he couldn't. Back then it all felt so… normal. Natural. He couldn't recall any special sensation, anything that he could latch onto.

Thirty minutes later, a very angry, and very disappointed, Jaune was placed onto his bed. He smiled and waved the nurse off when she asked if he needed anything. He let out a tired sigh. He failed, miserably. He couldn't force his legs to even twitch, let alone move. The doctors assured him it's normal, he was just recovering from a serious injury that should have left him paralyzed for the rest of his life, and so on and so forth.

Jaune felt sick. Couldn't they understand? He didn't need pity, or weak encouragements like that. He knew full well his condition was serious, and the fact he'd recovered as much as he did was basically a miracle.

But it was still not enough. He had to try harder.

* * *

Arthur Arc watched his son through window in the waiting room. Jaune was exercising for nearly an hour now. This session should be ending soon - but he knew his son would insist on extending it.

He always did, ever since doctors decided he was ready to start physical rehabilitation. But ever since they visited Penny's room, he was pushing himself even harder.

Arthur sighed, and shook his head. He still felt conflicted about this whole deal. On one hand he was happy, and proud that his son showed such determination. On the other…

"What are you playing at?"

The question slipped from his lips almost without his will, but Arthur didn't mind it.

"Hm? Excuse me, I was lost in thought. What did you ask?"

Arthur sighed, and turned away from the window to the only other occupant of the room.

"What are you playing at, Doctor?"

Gepetto raised a single eyebrow.

"I'm not sure I understand the question."

Arthur took a deep breath

"I know you said this is to help with this little project of yours. And to further develop those implants. But that's not all, is it? You wouldn't be so secretive about it."

"Sir…"

"No, let me finish. I'm grateful, Doctor. Really grateful for what you did for my son. No, for my whole family. I would do just about anything to repay you. But risking my son? Now that we have a real chance of seeing him live a normal life?" Arthur shook his head. "This is one thing I will not accept."

Gepetto stared at another man in silence. Arthur continued.

"Did you really think I wouldn't recognize those?" he said, pointing at the metal frame that Jaune was just leaving. The doctors said it was a device meant to support his body, helping him in taking first steps, but Arthur knew better. "They are simpler, much simpler, but it's the same base design. I would know, after all those hours we spent in them. What was it you said? That they are meant to enhance our Aura control and general movement coordination." He shook his head." Well, it doesn't matter. "Tell me, Doctor, why are you getting my son involved in Project Ares? I thought you abandoned it?"

The old scientist watched the other man, considering what answer to give. He could pretend that there was no hidden motive here. He could tell some half-truth. He had many options available to him.

But in the end, did he really need to keep secrets from Arcs? Or rather - could he? The data he collected from Jaune was promising. Very much so. It was too early to say anything for sure, but maybe the strange link young boy formed with Penny will prove to be a key to success. Could he really risk losing it, just to keep a few secrets?

"It's not about Ares." he said finally, standing beside Arthur. They stood in silence for a few moments, Gepetto observing the blond boy, Arthur observing the old doctor.

"It's about Penny. Right now she is… crippled. She has access to the global network, she can browse, and find any information she wants, or needs. But she can't _live._ She can't see anything for herself, she can't feel anything for herself. Only thing she can do is exist." He chuckled bitterly. "I guess that in certain ways, she and Jaune are in similar situations. Or were. He is on his way to full recovery. She? She will be trapped in that room for the foreseeable future."

He sighed and turned to Arthur, looking him in the eyes.

"What I want, Arthur, is exactly the same thing that you do. For my child to be able to live a normal life. Because right now, she is not only trapped in that room, she is vulnerable. Very much so. If… no, _when_ Council gets wind of her, they will either try to take control of her, and use her as a weapon, or destroy her. I can't hide her forever, keeping her alive takes too much resources. Someone will notice something sooner or later. So I want to create a body for her. Both so she can live normally, and so she can convince whole word that she is, in fact, a normal girl. And I believe your son can help me with this."

Arthur stared at the older man for a few moments, then sighed.

"Damn, I wished it was something dark. But if you give me a reason like that?" he shook his head. "How could I refuse to help? But just to be clear, there is no danger for Jaune here?"

"None. Like I said, he is possibly the only person who can do it. And the success of this project depends solely on him achieving full recovery. Well, at the very least to the point where he will be able to walk on his own. I will not risk my daughter in the future by endagrign him. Plus, they are friends. She would be sad if something happened to him."

Arthur chuckled at that.

"I see. But I have to ask - why did you dig Ares up? I thought it was a failure?"

"It was." Gepetto easily agreed. "But I decided to give it a try one more time. Worst case scenario, it will fail again, and Jaune will just have a bit of fun. Best case scenario - it will succeed and… well, to be honest, I didn't give it much thought. I guess I'll figure something out when, no, _if_ it works out."

"So, what's the plan? I hope you are not planning to form so secret vigilante team with my son as the lead?"

Gepetto laughed.

"No, nothing like that. Like I said, I don't hold much hope that it will work out. At first I'll run him through some training simulations, see how it goes. We will start with something basic, maybe an Atlas Academy standard training program. If he does well enough, we will give him something harder."

Arthur blinked.

"Wait, aren't those restricted for military use only?"

"They are."

"Hmm. I didn't know you had clearance to use those."

Gepetto grinned.

"Only for development and research purposes."

"Wouldn't they ask questions? Like why you want to run a fifteen year old boy through them? From what I recall, they always monitor usage of that simulation very strictly."

"They would, if they knew. I was the one who did most of the work in developing those simulations, at least when it comes to coding. And I may, or may not, have kept a copy on my private server."

Arthur shook his head.

"You do realize I should report this to Ironwood?"

Gepetto just shrugged.

"He knows. Or at least suspects, but as long as I don't overdo it, he lets me get away with little things like that."

Arthur shook his head. He wasn't sure if using military technology for private projects counted as a 'little' thing, but if Ironwood was ok with that, then who was he to argue?

Besides, it's not like anything will come out of it.

* * *

Jaune sighed, stretching his arms. His whole body was sore after today's exercises, but it wasn't as bad as it used to be. Which meant he was either making progress, or his nurse went easy on him.

He really hoped it was the former.

Jaune allowed a weak smile to appear on his face. His rehabilitation was going painfully slowly. He didn't mind the pain too much, he knew it was a necessary part of his recovery. No pain, no gain, like his father used to say. And he was gaining. Slowly, but surely his muscles were strengthening. He still was scraggy, with his arms and legs so thin they looked like they could snap at any moment, but at least now he was strong enough to lift small objects. He even regained enough control in his hands to be able to perform some simple tasks. Over were the days when he had to be spoon fed by nurse - he could do it on his own now, and he almost never spilled anything.

He even wrote a letter to his mother and sisters. It took him several hours, and contained only a few sentences, but it was there.

Jaune sighed, lifting his hand, slowly closing and opening his fingers. Yes, he was making progress.

He just wished it wasn't so damn boring.

Wake up early for check ups, eat something, go to physical rehabilitation. Take a break, eat, then more check ups, and more exercises. Sometimes run VR simulation.

The only thing that broke this monotony was Penny. They 'talked' through the link every chance they got. Now that Jaune knew the truth about his friend, he was doing his best to let her actually experience the world. It wasn't perfect, since the best he could do was to link with her, and let her borrow his senses. It was hard, and exhausting, process, often leading to terrible headaches, but the sheer joy he felt from her when she could touch, smell, or taste things through him was well worth it.

These days, they remained linked almost all the time. It was a strange sensation, to constantly be connected to the mind of another person. He never spent so much time with anyone, not even his family. About a week after they first met, Jaune realized that the range at which he could connect with his friend increased. He could hold the connection from almost any point in clinic, and it was becoming clearer and stronger with every day.

Then, about two weeks later, Jaune woke up, and reached out to connect with Penny - only to realize they already were. Or rather - that the link never broke. This realization shocked him. Even with his family, he never could stay connected for so long. After just an hour or so, a headache would start, and after about three the link would just break on it's own. Simillary, when he had fallen asleep, or entered VR, any link he formed would break. He could feel Penny's surprise, and even concern, but he quickly waved those emotions off. They were already spending every moment they could together. This changed nothing, it just saved him the hassle of reconnecting every morning.

That night, like he often did, he dreamed he was running through endless grassy plain, basking in the light of the setting sun. This time though, he wasn't alone.

* * *

"Do you want to play a game?" asked Gepetto.

Jaune stared at the older man for few seconds. It wasn't like he had never played a game - in fact the clinic had few that he and other patients could access and play any time they wanted. They even had a few tournaments. The problem was that they all were rather simple, and after nearly four months Jaune grew bored of them. So when this morning, instead of his familiar nurse, the old doctor visited his room and made this proposition, Jaune wasn't sure what to think.

Especially considering the emotions he could feel emanating from him. It was mostly curiosity and anticipation. Very, _very_ intense curiosity and anticipation.

"Now? I should be starting my morning exercises now." he asked to buy himself some time. The way doctor was watching him made him nervous.

"I'm aware. But you've been working very hard these past few weeks. And I suspect it's, at least partially, because of what I told you about Penny. So I wanted to show my gratitude, and I figured you might like a bit of excitement. I know how monotonous rehabilitation can be."

Jaune considered man for a few more moments. Something to break up this boredom sounded nice. Very nice.

"What kind of game we are talking about?" Jaune asked carefully. He somehow doubted this was some weird way to make him agree for some extra hard exercises, but one couldn't be too careful.

"Oh, it's an army simulator. Very similar to this popular game... What was it called… Call of Honor? Anyway, it's pretty much the same thing, just a bit more realistic." he winked." You will play it in VR capsule afterall. And if anyone asks - we can tell you are doing some advanced training, to help you with movement coordination, or something. It's a win-win situation."

After a moment of hesitation Jaune nodded. He'd heard of this game of course, even watched a few trailers and streams on his scroll. It looked fun - playing as Atlas soldiers, doing various missions and shooting Grimm.

"Sure. Why not." he said finally. Gepetto smiled.

"Splendid. I will have the capsule ready for you in a moment.

Just twenty minutes later, Jaune was lying in very familiar device, in very familiar room as the capsule lid started slowly closing Gepetto stepped into his line of vision and smiled.

"Have fun, Jaune. Just remember - it is rather challenging. Nothing you can't handle, as long as you focus."

Jaune shot him thumbs ups, and relaxed.

Challenging?

The blond boy smiled. Good, it would keep it from becoming boring too fast. And besides, he currently held the highest scores in every game he played. How bad this one could really be?

* * *

Very, very bad, as it turned out about five minutes later, when Jaune fell on concentrate floor, rolled onto his back, pointed barrel of his assault rifle in the vague direction of the corridor he just stumbled out of and pulled the trigger.

He hoped at least few bullets hit the Beowolf that was chasing him. He vaguely realized that maybe trying to aim, instead of wildly spraying, would lead to better results, but right now the only thing he could think of was to pump as many bullets into the direction the Grimm was coming from as he possibly could.

After just a few seconds his weapon clicked, announcing he ran dry. Jaune spent a few moments just lying there, listening. He couldn't hear any footsteps, which probably meant he somehow managed to kill his pursuer. With a breath of relief he got up and started looking around the room he was in.

_What the hell is this game anyway!?_

He thought bitterly. Sure, the doctor said it was 'realistic' and 'challenging' but this was insane! There was no title screen, no mission debrief, no HUD, or any UI for that matter. Nothing! He was dropped straight into a dim room with only a rifle in his hands, a handgun on his belt, and a few spare mags.

The first thing that really shocked Jaune was weight. Unlike almost any other simulation he was in, his body had actual weight. Same as all the equipment he had on him, furniture and so on. He spent a few moments just marveling at how realistic it all felt.

And then the Grimm came. A massive Beowolf slammed through one of doors, roared, and charged at him. Jaune screamed, and ran, temporarily forgetting that he had a gun.

The blond sighed, recalling the shameful display.

_Ok, one baddie down. What to do now?_

A low growl from behind caused Jaune to yelp and spin. He barely had enough presence of mind to point his rifle at another Beowolf, before he pulled the trigger and… nothing happened.

_Shit, it's empty! Need to reload, need to reload… Where is the reload button!?_

Virtual claws tore into him a second later.

* * *

**You died**

**Continue?**

**Yes No**

Jaune glared at the message displayed in front of his eyes in bold, red letters. He gritted his teeth and focused on the 'yes' option. There was no way he was going to give up so easily.

He started in the same room, with the same equipment. Not wasting any time, he walked towards the door - the one he ran off through the first time.

_So the doctor wasn't kidding when he said it's realistic. Well, it's not that bad. I can handle it._

Jaune spent a few moments looking for a relatively safe hiding spot, behind some crates. Since the game apparently didn't have any tutorial, he had to figure things for himself. First of all - equipment check. He ran through the multiple pockets and pouches his avatar had, finding some kind of map with red markers - which he assumed were his objectives, a flashlight, two grenades, a keycard, some medicines, and bubblegum.

_Ok, next. How to reload this damn gun?_

Jaune looked his weapon over, hoping against hope there will be some instructions attached to it. No such luck.

_So, what to do now? I won't go far if I can't reload it._

Jaune sighed, and then felt something. It was a weird sensation, a slight pressure on his brain. Not painful, just… urgent. He focused on it, and suddenly several images popped up in his brain. It looked like pages from some sort of manual. He focused on this image, and immediately smiled.

S.A.A.R 700/30 - Standard Atlesian Assault Rifle uses dust-infused bullets caliber 7.62 mm, 30 rounds per magazine. Effective range of 700 meters. Capable of killing low to mid tier Grimm with weak armor.

_Thanks, Penny. _ Jaune could feel his friend's satisfaction, and enthusiasm, but for now he focused on information she provided him. There were a lot of technical details that he ignored for now. After just a few moments, he found what he was looking for - instruction how to operate a gun properly.

Jaune spenT a few minutes practicing reloading, often stopping when he heard passing Grimm. Only when he decided he'd mastered reloading enough to not mess it up under pressure, he pulled out his handgun. He didn't have to do anything, Penny provided all the information he needed almost instantly. Not only on his handgun, but also the rest of the equipment he had.

Jaune smiled and got up, finally ready to take on this stupid game.

_Ok, what are my objectives anyway._

He pulled out his map. It was a very simplistic one, but this worked in his favor. He quickly figured out where he was, and where he needed to head next.

Jaune readied his rifle and grinned.

_Allright, round two. Here I come!_

* * *

Jaune ran. He knew the Grimm were closing in, and he had no chance of defeating them all. He learned his lesson in the twenty or so attempts he did so far.

The map he was playing at was a pretty good replica of a standard Atlesian outpost. He had two ways of 'winning' this mission. One - reach radio tower, fix damaged transmitter, and use secondary generator call for evacuation.

Second - locate the main power source, manually restart it, then reach the command center and activate the base defenses. The first one was easy, he completed it on his third try. But for some reason he couldn't resist the urge to get a 'full clear'. Locating the power room was easy - getting inside not so much. It took him a few tries, until he figured out (with Penny's help) a way to sneak inside. Unfortunately, restoring power to outpust meant all lights went on - which not only put all the Grimm on alert, it also made sneaking around much harder.

So far he always got caught before he could reach the command center.

_Not this time._

Jaune fired behind him until his rifle clicked dry, and threw it away. It wouldn't help him much, and he was out of ammo anyway. He pulled his last grenade and threw it too. The explosion caused him to stumble, but he held his ground and continued running. He was close, so close now. Ten meters, five, two…

He pulled the doors open, rolled inside, and slammed them shut. Or rather tried - the first Beawolf reached the door, slamming into them with all its mass. Jaune gritted his teeth, trying desperately to push the door closed. Even as solid as they were, they wouldn't last long against the frenzied horde - but all he needed was a few seconds.

Unfortunately, the Grimm was bigger and stronger than Jaune, and was slowly forcing his way inside. The blond grit his teeth, pushing harder, but he was cleary losing.

_No way. Not like this. _

Suddenly, a few images flashed in his head. He grinned, and reached for his breast pocket pulling small cylinder. It contained medical Dust, used by soldiers' to sterilize wounds. He dropped it to the ground, and pushed towards the growing crack between doors and the frame.

_Eat this!_

He thought, pulling his gun and shooting the canister. Highly pressured gas exploded, not doing much damage, but surprising the Beowolf for split of a second. All Jaune needed to slam the door shut. Without hesitation, he ran deeper into the building. Locating the command console was easy, and not wasting a second the blond pulled out his keycard and ran it through terminal next to console. As soon as it activated, he started typing in security codes, all the time trying to ignore noise of Grimm trying to break in. Judging by the sounds of metal doors bending and being torn apart, it wouldn't take them long.

But it was fine.

He would be faster.

He typed in the last password, took a second to check it out, and activated the terminal. For one, terribly long second nothing happened.

And then multiple automated turrets surrounding camp sprung to life, tearing Grimm to shreds.

Various metal containers opened, revealing Atlesian Knights that joined the fray. A few moments later, camp was secured. Jaune let out a breath of relief, and slumped to the floor. A see through screen appeared in front of him, displaying various stats.

Jaune let out a small chuckle that soon turned into full blown laughter. He did it. He'd finished this damn, insane game!

Well, _they _finished it. He could feel Penny satisfaction, and she had every right to feel it. He would never have done it without her help. Now, they could get out and…

**Congratulations!**

**You have successfully completed tutorial. **

**Continue to REAL mission Abandon duty**

Jaune stared at message in front of him for a few moments. Tutorial? _That _was just the tutorial?! And they wanted him to try a 'real' mission? It was even in all caps for f...fluff sake!

Jaune chuckled nervously. He had no doubt that it would be hard. Much, much harder than this tutorial. It was insane to even think of trying it.

But…

Penny was excited. This time they'd spent trying to complete this mission, she felt so… alive. Excitement, frustration, sadness, joy - it was probably the most she felt ever since they met. Even now he could feel something that he could describe only as careful excitement. Like a child that is waiting for her parents to decide whether she would get a new toy, or not.

Could he really deny her that?

The answer was simple - he couldn't. And besides, it wasn't like he himself wasn't pumped up. Abandoning something just because it was hard? Yeah, not really his style.

He would probably be tearing his hair out from frustration, but hey, if it was him and Penny working together, there was nothing they couldn't do.

_Ok, game. _Jaune grinned, selecting option to continue. _Bring it on._

Half an hour and about twelve deaths later Jaune had to admit he was right.

This game was freaking insane.

* * *

Jaune put down the controller and sighed. The new game his father got him was… entertaining. Yes definitely. Not as soul-crushingly hard as the one Doctor Gepetto made him play from time to time, but that wasn't a downside!

At all.

He definitely didn't feel bored.

Jaune let out a low groan. Scratch that. It was boring. Sure, he didn't feel like punching someone each time he died because of some stupid mistake, he wasn't thrown in middle of firefight without explanation, or had to figure out how to operate new weapon when horde of Grimm chased him trough dark, snowy forest. And don't even get him started on escort missions. It was like those NPC's _wanted_ to die!

But at the same time, it was strangely rewarding. Sure he was frustrated, furious even, but after he calmed down, and thought it over - he could figure out what mistake he made, and how to fix it. So yes, game was brutally punishing, but also fair. If you went in without preparation - you died. If you prepared yourself, but got too confident - you died. If you prepared yourself and kept focus through whole mission - you had the chance to succeed.

It was over a month since Jaune had completed tutorial, and so far he managed to complete only one 'real' mission - escorting some VIP. It was frustrating, mostly because his charge was annoying as hell. Arrogant, loud, spewing racist comments all the time. Jaune honesty questioned why he was protecting him from virtual White Fang soldiers.

Anyway, there was a wide variety of missions he could choose from. Search and destroy, defending villages, assaulting terrorist basses, rescuing hostages - you name it. There were even a few where he was required to operate tanks, or aircraft.

Of course Penny was helping him every step of the way - as much as she could. Unfortunately, the limitations of his link quickly showed up. All she could do was send him her emotions, and brief flashes of images. It was enough to give him an idea on how to operate a new gun, but more complicated things were out of the question. In their last mission, he had to fly a bullhead through a snowstorm to deliver supplies to some frontier village. Penny tried her best to help him with this task, but Jaune simply couldn't understand what she was trying to tell him. The constant barrage of sensations and images disoriented him to the point he crashed bullhead and failed they mission - only a few hundred meters from the target.

Penny remained oddly silent and… distant? ever since. It had been three days already, and Jaune was getting nervous. Not for the first time he wished he could talk with his friend. He asked Gepetto if there was some way to let them talk. The old doctor explained that while it would be possible for Penny to, for example, hack into a local scroll network, and talk with Jaune through his scroll, but it would also leave traces of her existence. Traces that someone could find. And that was a risk none of them was willing to take - not yet anyway.

Jaune sighed, and leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen between his fingers. The only silver lining was that his rehabilitation was going well. His upper body had recovered almost completely. He was still weak, but everything worked properly. Now it was just a matter of him rebuilding his muscles.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about his legs. It frustrated him to no end, but there was little he could do. At least now he could operate his hover-chair on his own. This allowed him at least a bit of freedom.

Jaune hummed, looking over letter he just wrote.

_Ehh, good enough. _He put it in an envelope, and hummed, considering what to do. Penny still hadn't get out of her funk, Dad was busy with his job, and Doctor Gepetto was out somewhere, so he wouldn't be able to get another wack on this stupid Call of Insanity, as he dubbed this damn game.

Not that he would dare without Penny's help. It would be a suicide.

_I guess I'll just go to bed._ He thought, checking the clock. It was nearly nine p.m, and he didn't have anymore tests or checkups today. He quickly washed himself, changed clothes and went to bed.

* * *

Jaune's eyes snapped open. It was dark and a quick check of digital clock next to his bed revealed it was a few minutes past midnight. He blinked a few times looking around, trying to figure out what woke him up. His room was dark and quiet, there were no strange sound coming from the corridor too. He felt a bit of pressure in his head, but it was normal when linked… Link! He could feel Penny much stronger now, and she was trying to tell him something.

Jaune focused on the connection, and instantly was flooded by emotions and images. It all turned into a blur, he couldn't make any sense out of it, beside one fact - Penny was excited. Very, very excited, possibly the most he'd ever seen her be. Jaune sighed, and tried to calm his friend down. It was impossible to talk through link, but after almost two months of being connected nearly non stop - they figured out how to communicate with what they had.

Jaune focused and sent an image of a river, their codeword for 'calm down, I don't understand the message'.

The stream that flooded his brain stopped, and after a few moments he received several images of running animals.

_She wants me to go somewhere? _Jaune thought surprised. It was late, very late. He probably would get in trouble if someone caught him outside of his room, but… he could feel the excitement and urgency coming from Penny.

_Well, it can't hurt to check out what she wants. If anyone asks, I'll just say I couldn't sleep, or something._

He got into his chair, and after a moment of consideration put on his favorite hoodie.

He slowly opened the doors, and peeked outside. The corridor was mostly dark, only a few lights here and there shone with pale, white light. He couldn't see, or hear anyone. Jaune hesitated for a moment, then focused on his Aura. After a few moments, soft humm of lights in the corridor become much louder. He could hear someone shuffling in his sleep in a room on the opposite side, and three doors left. Someone was snoring terribly in fifth room down the corridor from his own.

He focused more, and just barely, he could pick voices of nurses from night shift sitting in they room. With a sigh, Jaune let go off his Aura and his hearing returned to normal. He wasn't playing with his enhanced senses much since he'd gotten his implant, mostly because he was busy with other things, and he didn't really need it anymore. If something was too far for him to see, or hear, he could simply get closer. But maybe he should try and play with it some more? Like his dad said - you can't have too many skills. The more tricks you have up your sleeve, the easier your life will be.

Now certain the coast was clear, he slowly left his room, closed the door, and paused undecided. Penny was sending him some images, but he had trouble figuring what she wanted to say. He could feel her mounting frustration, and eventually the messages stopped.

_Oh come on. Don't tell me she got mad at me and will stop talking to me again!_

Fortunately, it seemed to be not the case. After just a few seconds, all the lights on his left side flicked off. Then, starting from the one closest to him, they started to turn on. Jaune smiled. Well, this was easy to understand.

He followed the lights until he arrived at one of the elevators. It's doors were already open, waiting for him. Jaune chuckled. He'd figured out pretty quickly that Penny had access to almost every system in the clinic, and could easily hack into just about anything. Usually it was more subtle, like her taking control of security cameras so she could watch people going about their daily business, or something like that.

As soon as he got into the elevator it started going down. Jaune couldn't help but to feel curious. Just where was his friend leading him?

He watched idly as the floor count were getting lower and lower. Eventually, it stopped at '0', marking the ground floor.

But the elevator kept going down.

Jaune tensed, just staring ahead. He took a deep breath, and slowly let it go.

_Ok, so I not only left my room waaay past curfew, I'm now going into an apparently secret underground floor. Ok, it's alright, I'm sure there will be no problems at all._

A few seconds later doors opened revealing a long corridor that forked at the end. Jaune sighed and rolled out of the elevator. Lights on the roof started flickering in a familiar pattern, and, not having much choice, he followed them.

* * *

A few minutes later, Jaune realized that this secret floor might not be as big a deal as he thought it would be. Most rooms were empty, save from a few tables, or tools. Only one door he passed was closed, and a white plate next to them reading 'workshop'. Jaune just shrugged, and followed the flickering lights. Eventually, he stopped in front of grey doors, similar to every other he saw on this floor. The plate next to them informed him it was a storage room, and after Jaune entered - he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. There were multiple metal shelves, full of cardboard boxes. He idly checked some of them, but they all contained pretty normal stuff. Some tools, some electronic devices. The coolest thing he found was assault rifle, similar to the one he was using in the game Doctor let him play. It looked like the real thing, but an older model than what he was used to. Jaune just shrugged and put it back, looking around the room. Just why had Penny lead him there?

Then he noticed something. Small, green lights flickering in one of the corners. Intrigued, he moved closer. Source of light was small diode attached to some strange device. It turned off as soon as Jaune moved close, and several other devices on the shelf he was looking at started blinking in very familiar pattern. He moved alongside the shelf, until he found what, presumably, Penny wanted him to find.

It was some kind of helmet, as far as Jaune could tell. It was triangular in shape, with the longer part extending upwards towards end forming something that resembled a horn. Overall, it looked very futuristic, and not very practical. It was made from some strange material, that almost definitely wasn't metal. It was smooth in touch, and strangely warm. And there were no holes for eyes. From what Jaune could tell, whoever put this thing on would be completely blind. Maybe the material was see-through?

_Is this it?_

The wave of satisfaction and eagerness that washed over him was all the answer he needed.

_So I guess I should put it on?_

Another confirmation.

Jaune sighed, and turned the strange helmet around. The hole at the bottom was too small for him to put his head trough, but Penny quickly send him some images, showing how to open it up. With a sigh, Jaune put it on. It closed up over his head easily, and he was instantly surrounded by darkness. Just as he expected, he couldn't see anything.

Just as blond wondered what was the purpose of all this, he could hear soft humm. Then some static and…

"**Do you hear me, friend Jaune?"**

* * *

**And here we go - Penny enters the story. And immediately starts messing with Jaune's brain. Downloading AI directly to your brain might not have been the smartest idea - but then again, what could possibly go wrong? **

**In other news - PA has cover now, courtesy of Gabareco **

**See ya all next week.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Welcome to CH 6, where madness continues. Not even JJD can contain it anymore.**

**JJD: Let it be free!**

* * *

Jaune remained silent for a few seconds, too shocked to say anything. The voice was… metallic, for lack of a better term. It lacked any kind of emotion, and was often interrupted by static.

But he didn't care. He didn't need to hear emotion in this voice - he could _feel_ what its owner felt perfectly cleary.

"Penny?" he asked, just to make sure.

"**That is correct, friend Jaune."**

He couldn't help it. He laughed, and then laughed some more. For both of them, since he could tell Penny was as ecstatic about them being able to talk as he was.

"It's good to be able to talk to you, Penny." he said finally.

"**Likewise, friend Jaune**."

"Jaune."

"**Excuse me?"**

"You don't have to add 'friend' every time you say my name."

There were a few moments of silence, when Penny was analyzing his words.

"**I understand. I just wanted to make it clear. I read that it is important to make it clear what one feels about another person."**

Jaune shook his head. Well, Penny was not a normal girl, so it was given that she would have some… quirks.

"That's true, but you don't need to say it out loud like that every time." his eyebrows furrowed. "At least, I don't think so. I don't have many friends myself." he paused, considering it for a moment. "Now that I think about it, you're the only one. Huh, that's kinda sad."

"**Jaune, are you sad? Should I do something to cheer you up? I can play you some music if you want."**

Jaune laughed and shook his head. This was no time to be moping around! He could finally talk with Penny!

"Nah, I'm good. I have you, afterall." he said. A wave of excitement and joy he felt made him grin.

"So, what is this place anyway?"

"**According to my data, this is where Father Gepetto stores his 'mementos'."**

"Mementos?"

"**That is correct. They are copies of his previous inventions, or remains of failed experiments."**

Jaune nodded. It sounded about right. He'd heard old people liked to collect stuff. Now that he thought about it - Gepetto was quite a famous scientist, responsible for many breakthroughs in several different fields. It made sense that he took part in many projects, and wanted to keep some mementos of them.

"So, how did you find out about this?" he said, poking the helmet he was wearing. "I somehow doubt it was by accident."

"**You are correct, Jaune, it wasn't an accident. Based on data I collected, the main reason for our failures in Father's program was inefficient communication. I started looking for ways to improve it, and that's how I found out about this equipment. Since they are part of the same project, I figured out it might be helpful in improving our efficiency."**

Jaune blinked, surprised.

"Wait, slow down. You said 'Father's program'. You mean that this game… it was made by Gepetto?"

"**That is correct, friend Jaune. As far as I can tell, it was based on an Atlas military training program. While it bears 96.67% resemblance to the existing simulation, this one was recently modified by Father. I can only assume it was meant specifically to test how well we can cooperate under stress."**

Jaune grit his teeth. It was made recently? And specifically for them? He knew there was something wrong with this damn game! First of all, it was a VR simulation - and he'd never even heard about those before he arrived at Geppetto's clinic. At first he thought that maybe Atlas was just _that_ advanced, that everyone had a VR capsule in their home, but that was not the case.

Second, it was just too damn hard, and way too realistic! He knew it, that lying, treacherous, sadistic...

"**I would ask you to stop thinking negatively about Father, Jaune. It brings me a strong sense of discomfort."**

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jaune took a few deep breaths to calm himself." Ok, I'm better. So, next thing. You said that this helmet and these simulations are somehow connected? You think we were meant to find it?"

Penny considered his question for a few moments before speaking.

"**This is a possibility, although I find it unlikely. I stumbled on this information by accident, while browsing some of code Black files."**

Jaune chuckled nervously. Code Black? That didn't sound good.

"I'm afraid to ask, but.. What does code Black mean?"

"**It's a special security code. Most files under this category are top-secret military projects that were cancelled before completion, and no initiatives were taken to restart them for at least ten years."**

Jaune paled. So this helmet was part of some super secret military project? Why the hell did Gepetto have something like that in his cellar?! Oh, Brothers, he was _wearing_ this thing now! What would happen if someone found him? Did Atlas gave life long sentences to the underaged?

They didn't have the death sentence, right?

"**Jaune. There is no need to panic. Like I mentioned, Project Ares was abandoned, due to... Please wait a moment… Imposible to bypass technical limitations. This means that full custody over all hardware, and software, unless specified otherwise, belongs to the head of the project, Gepetto Polendina."**

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. So no martial court for him, at least not now. Good, very good.

"Alright. Wait, did you say Project Ares?"

"**Correct. Are you familiar with it?"**

Jaune shook his head.

"Never heard of it. But my Dad… after he graduated Beacon, and his team fell apart, he teamed up with a few other freelancers. Eventually, they started to call themselves ARES."

Penny remained silent for a few moments.

"**I can't find any data on a Hunter team called Ares, or if they had any connection to Project Ares." **she announced eventually.

"Yeah, I don't think they ever registered as an official team." Jaune hummed, lost in thought. Should he ask his father about this? No, that wasn't a good idea. First of all, he would have to explain how he learned about this Project Ares in the first place, and he somehow doubted that 'me and Penny found this secret underground storage and there was this helmet," would sit well with his father.

"Wait, how did you even got ahold of this info? You said it was under some security code. That has to mean it isn't publically available, right?"

There were a few moments of silence.

"Penny. How did you get ahold of this info?" Jaune asked again, a hint of panic in his voice.

"**I found it."** For some reason, Jaune recalled an image of his younger sisters when Mom questioned them what happened with the cookies. The way they shifted nervously, never meeting her eyes.

"Yes, you did mention it. But were you _allowed_ to search in… whatever place you found it?

Almost a full minute passed in silence.

"Penny?"

"**Father didn't say no."**

"Did you ask him for permission?"

Her silence was telling.

Jaune groaned. Great, just great. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. Well, what was done was done, nothing he could do about it.

"Alright, let's leave it for now. You said that this game we were playing was somehow connected to this Project ARES. Why do you think so?"

"**Some of the code used to create it bears a close resemblance to that used in a few samples of the Ares training simulations I was able to locate."**

"Huh? What kind of resemblance?"

"**It's hard to tell for sure. The only thing I was able to determine, is that there are parts of code that reference Project Ares. I was unable to locate the complete code, most of what I found was either just samples, or heavily modified. My guess is that after the cancelation of Project Ares, the military acquired ownership of the code and repurposed these simulations for their own training program."**

Jaune hummed, considering what he'd learned. He felt conflicted, to put it lightly. He doubted that doctor Gepetto would put him in trouble, and even if he tried something shady, he was sure that his father would find out and stop him.

But then, why was he putting him through the training of a long dead project, and calling it a game?

"Penny… is it possible that this simulation is somehow impacting my implant? At the beginning, I had to do a lot of simulations that involved me moving around. Gepetto said it was to help my implant sync with my brain… or something like that. You think it might be something like that?"

It took almost a minute before Penny answered.

"**It's possible. Based on data in your medical files, there is noticeable and steady improvement in the implant's performance ever since we started running through these simulations. It is possible that Father determined recent lack in progress in your physical recovery is partially because your implant does not syncing itself as quickly as it should." **there was a moment of pause, and Jaune could feel Penny's uncertainty. "**It is possible my previous interventions in your training could have hindered your progress." **she said finally.

Jaune just shook his head.

"Penny, you _helped_ me pass several roadblocks. For all we know, I might be still struggling with that stupid match-picture game if not for you. And even if it's true that it messed with my implant?" He shrugged then grinned. "I don't recall arguing against it. And besides - If you didn't do anything, we might have never met. And I'll take a friend over slightly faster recover any day."

"**Thank you, Friend Jaune."**

Jaune grinned, and didn't comment on small slip. He could feel the sheer relief Penny felt. Was she really that afraid she might have hindered his recovery? Or maybe that he would get mad at her? He shrugged. It wasn't important now. Even if his recovery slowed down a bit, he got himself a friend, and that was well worth it in his book.

"Don't mention it." And then a sudden thought hit him. "Wait, isn't it dangerous? Us talking I mean. Gepetto said…"

"**It's alright F… Jaune. This connection is secure."**

"That's good to hear. But...what we will do from now on? I mean, I don't think taking this thing from here is a good idea. And neither is sneaking out each time we want to have a talk."

Penny remained silent, but Jaune could feel her hesitation. When she didn't speak for a few moments Jaune sighed.

"Penny? What's the matter?"

"**There… might be a way."**

"Excuse me?"

"**There might be a way for us to be able to talk without the need of additional equipment. It would also be extremely secure connection. Currently, there are no known methods of intercepting any message sent that way. "**

The blond grinned.

"This sounds awesome! Now, if you don't mind, I would love to hear some details."

"**It… should be possible to transfer some of my data to your implant. This would allow us to communicate freely, since I could just use your Aura to send signals simulating speech directly to your brain." **

Jaune grinned. That sounded awesome! But judging by Penny's hesitation, it wasn't a perfect solution.

"So, why the hesitation? There is more to it than that, right?"

"**Friend Jaune… I'm unable to determine what effect such a process would have on your implant. While I'm 99,67% sure there is no risk of damaging it, my… presence can still cause unexpected, and potentially harmful side effects. Furthermore, by allowing me access to this implant, you will indirectly give me means of interfering directly with your brain activity. This..."**

"Aaaand I'm going to stop you right here. Penny, we are friends. I know you. We were connected for all this time, and I can say for sure, that you are a good person. I never, ever felt you think something negative about another person. I trust you." He said smiling. "More than anyone else." he added after a moment, and to his surprise, he realized it was true.

Don't get him wrong, he loved his family dearly, but Penny? For two months they were connected in a way no other two people were connected. He knew her every thought, every sensation. And not single time he felt any malice from her.

She was just too pure, too naive, for this.

A wave of emotions he felt from her made him grin. He would do just about anything to keep her happy.

"Let's do it Penny. What should I do?"

"**I need direct connection to your implant. Thankfully, this helmet seems to be made with use of similar technology. If you can link your Aura into it, it would allow me to transfer… myself."**

Link his Aura to this helmet? Jaune wasn't sure how it was supposed to work, but he focused on the power in his body. At first he had no idea what to do, but eventually just reached out with his Aura, the same way he always did when he tried to Link with other people.

And to his surprise, he felt himself connecting to… something. It wasn't a person, there was no mistake about it. Curious, he touched it, and pulled it closer. And then something clicked, and the world around him shifted. For a moment he panicked, but it passed quickly. It felt… strange, but comfortable at the same time. Like a puzzle fitting in its place - it's just that he was a puzzle piece, and this… something was the frame.

He lifted his hand, closing and opening fingers a few times. There didn't seem to be any problems, but he felt as if something was missing. And then it struck him. His hand. He could see it. While wearing a helmet that had no holes for eyes or anything like that.

Jaune lifted his hand, and touched his head, just to make sure it was still there. The movement looked blurry, his hand leaving afterimages as it moved.

_So now I can see in that thing. Sure, why not._

He looked up - and it proved to be a mistake. The dim lights on the ceiling, suddenly shone with the power of the Sun. On reflex he turned his eyes away, but that proved to be a mistake too. The sudden movement made everything around him blurr. He eventually looked down, away from lights, focusing just on the floor. It didn't bring him respite either - with each moment he stared at a flat surface, he could spot more and more details, to the point he felt like his brain was about to explode.

Nausea hit soon after, and Jaune bent double, trying to no vomit. He was vaguely aware of Penny screaming something at him, but he ignored her for now, and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He could still feel sensations and images trying to flow through the Link, and sher amount of them made his head hurt.. Jaune grit his teeth and focused. His senses were overwhelmed. He wasn't sure why, but it wasn't an unfamiliar sensation - he went through it multiple times when he was experimenting with his Aura.

_Ok, keep calm and focus. All you need to do is stabilize your Aura. No biggie, you did it hundreds of times before._

It took him several minutes, but eventually he managed to calm down the violent torrent to a much more manageable size. His vision still blurred if he moved his head too fast, and the lights were too bright, but he could handle it.

"**Friend Jaune! Are you alright? Readings from your implants are off the charts. I detected extremely high data input directly to your brain. I advise severing the connection…"**

"No way." he choked out, still trying to calm his erratic breath down. "We are doing this transfer now, Penny. We don't know when we will have another chance. Or if we will have one at all."

He sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"Besides, I've got this under control." He smiled. "So, any idea why that happened? Or why I can see in this helmet now that I linked my Aura with it?"

"**I'm afraid I do not have enough data to answer your questions, Friend Jaune. I know that there was a sudden increase in data input to your brain. Specifically in the sectors responsible for sight, touch, and hearing. My guess is that this helmet possess highly sensitive sensors that were activated by your Aura, but I can't say anything for sure."**

"I see." It made sense. Well, there was no point in delving any further. "So, are we set, Penny? Can we begin transfer?"

"**Mostly. We just need to find a terminal and connect your helmet to it. I located three suitable connection points on this floor."**

Jaune nodded. "Lead the way."

Penny guided him to room labeled as workshop. The terminal was easy to spot, and connecting was as simple as plugging a wire into the slot near its base. Jaune leaned back in his chair and smiled.

"Alright, I'm connected. Are we ready?"

"**Scanning for connection… Complete. Testing bandwidth speed… Complete. Testing implant data capacity… Complete. Calculating optimal download speed… Complete. Performing safety checks… Complete. All preparations to transfer complete. We are ready to begin transfer."**

Jaune grinned.

"Then let's do it."

He winced when he felt pressure in his head. It was a strange sensation, unlike anything he'd felt before. It was similar to how he felt when talking through Link, but was different at the same time. Jaune just sighed, and tried to relax. Not that it mattered now.

"**Transfer procedure initiated. Estimated time to completion - six hours, thirty four minutes and twenty seconds."**

Jaune focused on breathing evenly. After a few minutes he found out that it was actually quite easy to ignore the weird sensation in his head if he doesn't focus on it too much. Penny started playing some soft melody in his helmet, and after ten or so minutes, Jaune realized he has to fight to keep his eyes open.

"Hey, Penny? Would it be ok if I catch some sleep?"

"**Yes, Jaune. It will not interfere with the process."**

"Great. See you in the morning then. Goodnight, Penny." he said, closing his eyes.

"**Goodnight, Jaune." **Said Penny. She focused, and reached out to multiple electronic signals she could detect. The first thing she did was lock the doors to the room they were in, then blocked the elevator. She realized that it might annoy some people, but right now Jaune's safety was her top priority. She couldn't risk someone unauthorized finding him in this vulnerable state.

* * *

Jaune awoke slowly. He blinked a few times, trying to remember where he was, and why the hell he couldn't see a thing.

_Ah, yeah. I went with Penny to that secret basement, found some strange helmet and we started transferring…_

He tensed, recalling the events of last night. Wait, Penny said he needed to sync himself to this helmet in order to perform transfer! Did he lost link when he had fallen asleep? Desperately he reached out to connect with Penny to ask what happened.

"**It's alright Jaune. Everything went well."**

The blond boy jumped up and looked around. Penny's voice sounded different when it came from the helmet speakers. More… natural. And it came from somewhere very close. It was as if she was standing right behind him, and whispered those words to his ear. Jaune let out a breath of relief. So they succeed.

_So, we can talk in my mind now? _

A few seconds passed in silence.

"**Friend Jaune? Are you alright?"**

The blond boy groaned. Did he really had to speak loudly?

"So… Do I have to actually speak for you to hear?"

"**Yes. Right now I'm connected directly to your brain. You can hear me, because I'm stimulating your sense of hearing. This also means for me to hear your words, you have to actually speak them."**

Jaune let out an annoyed sigh. This was going to get very awkward, he just knew it. But for now it was probably best if the left this basement before anyone…

"Oh, you are awake."

...finds them. Jaune cringed, and briefly considered pretending to be asleep, but discarded the idea. It wasn't like it would help him in any way. So instead he slowly removed his helmet, and looked in the direction from where the voice came.

Doctor Gepetto was sitting in an office chair, watching him curiously.

"Ummm… good morning, Doctor."

"Good morning to you too, Jaune. I assume Penny is with us too?"

The blond boy just nodded. There was no point in denying it.

"Please eat something. After you are done, I would like to hear some explanations."

"Explanations?" asked Jaune, accepting the metal box. It was filled with rice, some vegetables, and pieces of meat.

And smelled delicious.

"Yes. For example - why you left your room way past curef? Why did you come down here, to the restricted area? How did you even managed to get here? Why did you have this helmet on your head? And possibly the most important - what happened here?"

Jaune cringed at every question. Yeah, he figured the Doctor would probably be interested in getting answers to those. Now, the problem was how did he explain, without getting Penny in too much trouble? Because he doubted that 'I got lost while looking for restroom' would work here.

"Ummm… I got lost while looking for the restroom?" he tried.

Gepetto raised a single eyebrow.

Crud. Well, it was worth a shot.

"Ok, how about I make it a bit easier for you. I'll tell you what I _think_ happened, because I think I have a pretty good idea, and you just fill in the blanks. Or correct me on the parts that I'm wrong, ok?"

Jaune nodded, eyes focused on his food. It was really good, but the tense atmosphere made it impossible to enjoy it.

"So, for some reason, Penny decided to bring you here. No, don't try to deny it, Jaune. There is no way you could stumble upon this place by accident. Someone had to lead you here, and she is literally only one person, beside me, who could do it. So, after you got down there, you started exploring. Eventually, you found this helmet, and put it on. Then… something happened. And I would very much like to know what this 'something' was."

Jane sighed. Yeah, Gepetto had a pretty good guess. A few parts were off, but it wasn't important. What was important, was where he should start with explaining himself?

"So… how did you found us anyway?" he asked, to buy himself some time.

"Well, considering you set up to have a nap in my private workshop, I don't think it's too surprising I stumbled upon you."

Jaune winced. Yeah, that sounds about right.

"But the real reason was that whatever you did, it sent your implant into overdrive. It was only for a moment, but I got seriously worried. Even more so, when I didn't find you in your room, and it appeared that none of the terminals on your floor picked up this anomaly. So I used my private one to track down the location of your implant - and was surprised again, when I found out you were directly connected to the terminal in this place."

Jaune winced. Ok, so he made Gepetto worry. In hindsight, it is kinda obvious. The blond boy took a deep breath, slowly let it go and started speaking.

"Well, you mostly got it right, Doctor, but we weren't really exploring, Penny led me to the storage room with this helmet."

"I see. But why? I honestly don't see any reason for you to take a late night stroll all the way here, just to pick up a rusty, old peace of failed technology."

Jaune blinked? Failed technology? But it seemed to work…

"We… we wanted to talk…" he spoke, and immediately cringed. It sounded really stupid when he said it out loud. But for him and Penny? It was important. Very much so.

"I know it's sounds stupid!" he said, before the doctor could call him out for this. "But… me and Penny were able to communicate only through the Link for all this time. At first we were fine with it, but after a while...it just wasn't enough. There were so many things I wanted to tell her, and I knew she wanted to tell me a lot too, but we just couldn't! It was… It was as if you were always getting second the best meal. It's fine at first - I mean it's the second best, there is only one thing better! But then you see all those people being able to enjoy this best one whenever they want, and suddenly it's not enough. You want to try it, even if only once, even if it's just for a moment." he finished with a small voice.

Gepetto remained silent for a long time. Jaune very carefully reached out, and touched an older man's Aura. He breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't feel any anger.

_So, we might get out of this yet. _

Eventually Gepetto shook his head, and shot him a curious glance.

"So, I assume it worked?"

Jaune grinned.

"Yes! We were able to talk through this helmet."

Gepetto hummed.

"I see. But, why bother? You could use just about any terminal, or even your scroll."

"But... you said it would be dangerous if Penny left traces of her existence, so we figured using public terminals and scrolls is out of the question. Penny found out that we could talk through this helmet, because it has a secure connection. I don't really get it, but…" he trailed off, and shrugged.

"I see.." Gepetto shook his head. "You know, if you wanted to talk that badly, you could just ask. I would let you use one of secure terminals in my office."

Jaune just stared at the older man, completely dumbfounded. Penny was shocked too.

"You… would?"

"Of course."

Jaune chuckled.

"We… really overdid it, didn't we?"

Gepetto chuckled too.

"I guess you did. And I hope next time you want to chat, you come to me, instead of sneaking in where you shouldn't."

Jaune laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, we won't do it anymore Doctor. After all, we don't need a terminal anymore."

Gepetto eyes narrowed.

"Oh, really? And why, if I my ask?"

"Well… after I connected my Aura with this helmet…"

"You did WHAT?!"

The sudden outburst shocked Jaune, but he calmed down when he didn't feel any anger coming from older man. There were shock, and… well, mostly shock, but he could also feel traces of something else. Curiosity? No, it was more like… hope?

"Well… I connected with it?. Penny called it… synchronizing my Aura frequency with…"  
He paused for a moment and winced. "I'm sorry I don't really get what she is saying. Anyway, it felt similar to when I Link with other people, but also different? It's hard to explain." he paused, trying to remember the details of the event. "She said something about Aura resonance, I think… and that this helmet was built with similar technology to my implant. And that…"

"Yes, yes. What happened when you synced with it? And for how long? Did you experience any noticeable side effects? How long it took for them to disappear?"

Jaune chuckled nervously. Gepetto's face was now a mere millimeter from his own, the sheer excitement in older man voice made the young boy very uncomfortable.

"Ummm, Doctor?" he chuckled nervously. The older man blinked, coughed, and took a few steps back.

"So… When I 'synced' with it, I got a terrible headache. It was like my senses were cranked up to eleven. I was able to get it under control and stabilize the process…"

"You were?!" Gepeto exclaimed happily. Jaune started to wonder which one of them were fifteen years old here.

"Yes. Something similar happened to me a few times when I was experimenting with enhancing my senses with Aura."

"Hmm.. I see. So the Aura input was too strong after all… Maybe…"

"No, it's not like that. It is just uneven. Or rather _too_ even."

Gepetto blinked, surprised.

"Too even? Could you elaborate?"

"I'm not sure exactly why, but it seems that different senses react differently to Aura augmentation. For example, I have to put much more into sight to have any noticeable effect than into hearing. It's also much easier to mess that one up, and I get headaches fastest. The first one I mastered was hearing, but I think the easiest to augment and maintain is smell."

"What about taste and touch?"

Jaune shrugged.

"Dunno. Never bothered with them. Never needed taste, and touch…" he trailed off with another shrug. Gepetto winced. That might have been a bit insensitive for him to ask such a thing, but any remorse he felt quickly gave way to excitement.

He spent years researching Aura Resonance. It started back when he was still at university - just a wild theory, almost a joke. But the more time he sank into it, the more clear it become that it might be possible. Eventually, after years of research, and millions of Lien spend, he managed to create the first prototype of Resonance Gear. His joy from succeeding was short lived though. Even though he found several skilled individuals who could properly synchronize their Aura wavelength with equipment, none could maintain it for too long. Usually only a few seconds, almost a minute being the best score.

Eventually he developed Aura circuits, hoping they would help with the process. They did, but it was too little, too late. The project was canceled, the technology discarded.

"Interesting, but without practical application," they had said. Gepetto could only grit his teeth in frustration. There was no point in arguing, the results spoke for themselves. So Project ARES was shelved, and forgotten. Or at least it should be. In ten years since its cancelation, Gepetto spent many nights trying to figure out where he made a mistake. Were his calculation off? Was it a problem with the hardware? Would some kind of support software help?

This last idea eventually lead to the birth of Penny. For the next few years, he focused on cultivating, and protecting the life he created, ARES lying in his vault, temporarily forgotten.

And then he met Jaune. The young boy, with a very unusual Semblance, paralyzed for five years, developed very unique ways of using his Aura. Augmenting your senses wasn't something unheard of, but usually it was done by pouring Aura into a receptory organ, like the eyes, or ears, and thus increasing the sensitivity. But Gepetto had never heard of someone trying to manipulate they own brain. The potential damage from overcharging a rather fragile organ was just too much of a risk.

He decided to let him try the ARES training program on a whim. Honestly, he didn't hope for anything, it was supposed to be just one last try, before he could finally put this wild dream to rest.

But that wasn't the case. Gepetto wasn't sure what helped Jaune succeed where others failed - his Semblance, unusual Aura manipulation skills, or Penny's help. Maybe it was all of them combined? It was something he would need to look into.

They spent almost an hour discussing Jaune's experience after synchronization. This gave Gepetto a pretty good idea of where he failed. It would need some work, but… it could work. It could actually work.

Gepetto grinned, but his joy was short lived. He needed to tell Arthur about it, didn't he? And he somehow doubted Arc patriarch would be pleased about all this…

His eyebrows narrowed. He had a feeling he had gotten distracted with all this talk, that he'd forgotten to ask something important. He vaguely recalled talking about something else before the whole Aura Resonance subject came out.

He idly looked around, trying to remember. What could it have been? Jaune was there, of course, looking a bit uncomfortable, black helmet sitting on his lap. He ate his food - proving young man had good taste - and they were sitting in his workshop…

And then it clicked.

Jaune.

In his workshop.

Located on the underground, secret floor, that wasn't marked on any plans of clinic, with only a few ways to access it, and only if you had the right access card. Apparently led here by his daughter, because she wanted to have a chat with her friend.

And decided that using peace of experimental technology from long since abandoned project was a good way to do so.

He sighed. He would really need to talk to her about it later.

"Ok, I get it. Thank you for this talk, you've given me a lot to think about."

The young boy looked at him hopefully.

"You mean I won't get into trouble for this?"

_Depends on your father._

"I won't punish you in any way." Gepetto promised, feeling just a little bit guilty when Jaune smiled brightly.

"Thank you, Doctor! And Penny says she is sorry that she made you worry, and acted without your permission."

Gepetto paused. Jaune wasn't usually so precise when conveying messages received through his Link. And didn't he communicate with Penny though their conversation multiple times? It was different than usual, when he had to pause, and focus on his link for a few seconds to receive and understand the message. But now it looked more like he was talking with her on the phone. Wait, didn't he say something about finding a way to talk normally? Without the helmet?

"One more thing Jaune. Well, two. First - why did you even tried to synchronize with this helmet? It has built in speakers, so you could talk using those. And second - you mentioned you found a way to talk normally without any help. Mind sharing it?"

Jaune chuckled, and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, it's connected to one another. I synced with the helmet, so Penny could download… no wait, she just copied some of her data on my implant."

Gepetto stared at him.

Jaune started back, with an innocent smile.

"She.. copied some of her data on your implant?" he asked just to make sure.

"Yes. She says about… thirty percent. She was afraid to copy more and overload it. Currently she is synchronizing herself with it."

"I see. So how does it feel? To talk with her?"

Jaune grinned.

"It's awesome! It was nice to have a friend, but it sucked we never could never really, well, talk." his eyebrows furrowed. "She's talked almost non stop ever since I woke up though. She is really talkative one, huh?"

"I meant form a technical side. How does it work?"

"Oh." Jaune paused, considering question. "It's a bit weird. It's like she's standing right behind me, and whispering in my ear. It's a bit confusing, but I'm getting used to it. Sometimes I have trouble understanding her, if she talks too fast, or for too long, but she says it should get better once she's properly synchronizes herself with my implant."

Gepetto nodded, and leaned back over his workbench, Jaune peeking over his shoulder curiously.

Yes, Arthur _definitely_ will not be amused.

* * *

Arthur remained silent for a few seconds after Gepetto finished talking. If not for the fact he was in the middle of Atlas training facility, a few hours by bullhead from the city itself, he would probably ran to the clinic and…

He wasn't sure what he would do, but probably something reckless, and violent.

He took a deep breath and slowly let it go.

"So let me get this straight. You let my son wander off to your secret laboratory, grab piece of ARES equipment that just fucking sat there in the open, and try and _sync_ with it?"

"_To be fair, I didn't let him. He did it on his own. But yes, it happened, and I'm taking full responsibility. I assure you, though, that no harm has come to him, save from a headache."_

Arthur gritted his teeth. He owed this man, he owed him a lot. But this… this really took much from this dept.

"I'll see it for myself. Now, how much did you tell him?"

"_I only confirmed what he already knew, or figured out. All he knows is that Project ARES existed and that his implant was made using technology developed for that project. Nothing more. Arthur, I'm not trying to recruit him, or use him. I told you before, your son is my best bet of giving Penny a normal life. There is nothing more important to me than that."_

Arthur sighed. He needed to get his emotions under control.

"I know. It's just… I don't like it. I don't want my son to get involved in Atlesain politics. You know as well as I do that they wouldn't hesitate to use him."

"_I'm well aware, Arthur. I wouldn't risk your son like that. And not only because if they got their hands on him, they would get Penny too."_

Arthur started to slowly calm down. He knew full well how much Gepetto despised the Atlas council. The only politician that old scientist respected was General Ironwood - mostly because man didn't act like a politician.

"I know." he took one more deep breath, and slowly let it go." So, what are you planning to do now?"

There were a few moments of silence.

"_I would like for you to come over, and listen to what Jaune has to say. And if you find it acceptable, to let me restart ARES, with his help."_

All calm Arthur had evaporated in an instant.

"Gepetto…" he began, but was quickly interrupted.

"_No, hear me out first. Like I said, it will be your call. If you disagree, I will never mention ARES again. This I promise you. But Arthur.. Jaune can make it work. He managed to sync himself perfectly."_

"I know, you said that." Arthur growled. "So what? All of us did, and we all suffered the same side effects. No way I'm letting my son go through that." he spat. But to his surprise, Gepetto just shook his head.

"_No, you don't understand. He made it work. His synchronization was stable. I don't know if he achieved perfect Resonance, but he managed to stabilize link enough to minimize side effects. His connection lasted for several hours, and all he suffered were minor headaches, and some disorientation. Though it might have been because of Penny too."_

Arthur felt his jaw hanging open. Several hours? And no side effects? When ARES was still officially going, they couldn't even breach the one minute mark.

"How?" he asked.

"_Not sure. It would require several tests. But that's not all."_

Arthur blinked. There was more?

"_It's true that we initially pulled him out of rehabilitation to make sure everything is ok, and it was. Not only that - we finally got a response from support implants in his legs."_

Arthur's breath caught. For several months now Jaune's lower body had remained paralyzed for an unknown reason. As Geppetto explained it - there was some error that prevented the main implant from properly communicating with Jaune's lower body. He assured it was something they could fix, but Arthur was starting to get worried. That after all this time, they hope will be crushed again.

Well, Jaune's condition was infinitely better now than it was when he first arrived to Atlas. It was at the level where he probably could lead an independent life. But now, that all implants were finally working…

"You mean…" he asked, just to be sure. He needed to hear this, and Gepetto didn't keep him waiting.

"Yes. The signals were weak at first, but they are getting better and better with every moment. I can't say anything for sure yet, but I predict that by the end of the week, Jaune will be able to walk on his own."

Arthur grinned. He had a feeling Geppetto mentioned his daughter not only out of parental pride, but he couldn't care less. If this strange girl was helping his son, he didn't care about much else.

Even though the fact she was now literally living in his son head was more than a little disturbing.

"I see. Very well, I'll come over in a day or two. And I promise, that at the very least I'll give some serious thought about ARES."

"_That's all I ask. See you later, Arthur."_

With that, the call ended.

* * *

"Explain. Now." were his father's words when he came back two days later. Jaune was sitting in his hover-chair, in his room, with his father in front of him, and Gepetto leaning against doors.

This was it. The most crucial moment. The thought of refusing to talk, or even worse, lying to his father, never even crossed Jaune's mind. He _needed_ the man to understand, and approve of what happened. Of what was happening.

So he explained. As best as he could, not missing any details. After he was done, he answered every question his father had. He didn't tried any tricks, he tried his best to just deliver facts.

After they were done, Arthur remained silent, just watching him intently.

"So, you can talk with her?" he asked finally.

Jaune nodded.

"Can I talk with her? Through the Link?"

Jaune paused for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"I… don't think… She says it _might_ be possible, if… And I don't really understand what she said just now… We would need to synchronize better first for it to have a chance of working, is what she is trying to say. I think."

Arthur nodded, and returned to silently watching his son. Jaune held his gaze unflinching.

"You put yourself in danger. She could hurt you, without even meaning to." he said finally.

Jaune just nodded.

"Gepetto says your implant was acting up. So much that they had to stop your rehabilitation."

Jaune nodded again. There was nothing for him to say.

"And I heard you get headaches, and sometimes are disoriented to the point you don't know where you are."

Another nod.

"Do you regret it? If you could change, would you…"

"No," Jaune said firmly. "I do not regret it, and I would do it all over again."

"Why?"

"For her. Because she is my friend, and if I can help her, I have no reason not to. And for myself. Because if I abandoned her just because it would be easier that way, I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror."

Arthur just nodded once.

"Gepetto says that the side effects should recede over time, and that a short break from rehabilitation might end up doing you some good. It ended well, so I guess there's no point for me to be doing anything."

Arthur got up, and cracked a smile.

"I will be telling your mother though."

Jaune winced. Oh well, he had to suffer the consequences of his decisions.

"So, onto the next subject." Said Arthur with a sigh. "Gepetto told me about your successful synchronization. That connection was stable, and you were able to counter side effects."

Jaune just nodded.

"He also mentioned that he would like to restart Project ARES, with you as lead man. And I don't think I have to say how little I like this idea."

Jaune took a deep breath, and slowly let it go. He was running over what to say to his father multiple times. He had prepared multiple speeches, but right here, right now, he forget them all. If he wanted to convince his father, he needed to speak honestly, from himself.

"Dad, I know you are worried…"

"That's an understatement."

"..but please, before you make your decision, hear me out."

Arthur nodded. That he would certainly do.

"I… You know how much I wanted to be a Hunter when I was younger. After the accident, when it became clear that I would never walk again, I felt… empty. Like there was nothing left for me in this life. I'm better now, but…" Jaune paused for a moment, lost for words. "I… I want to do something." he said finally. "I'm happy now. I'm recovering, I can talk with you and mom, and my sisters, and I have Penny. So I thought that it was enough. That I'd be satisfied with it. That I _should_ be satisfied with it." He looked up at his father. His expression was unreadable. "But I'm not. I want to do prove that I'm not done. I want to scream out 'I'm back!" And this, this project, whatever it is - it might be a way for me to do so. I don't intend to do anything crazy. But if I can help make it reality, then each time it's used, I'll feel pride. I will be able to point out and say - I helped make it possible. So please." he pleaded, looking his father in the eyes. "Let me try. I swear, if it turns out too much, I back off myself. Because It's not about just me anymore, there is Penny too. Please, Dad, all I want is a chance to prove myself. Don't take it away from me."

Arthur considered his son for a long while. Eventually he sighed and stood up.

"I heard your legs are getting better?" he asked.

Jaune nodded hesitantly.

"Then focus on that now. I can stay until Sunday, so I will be cheering you on."

"What about…?"

"I'll think about it."

With that Arthur and Gepetto left. Jaune leaned back in his chair, and let out an explosive sigh.

Not what he hoped for, but at least his father didn't say no.

* * *

Arthur held his scroll so tight that it's frame cracked in several places. But the man didn't care, didn't even notice. All his attention was on his son. He stood between two long, metal fences, one hand on each. It was clear how much effort he put into just standing upright. Two doctors stood on his sides, ready to catch him if he fell.

Jaune took a deep breath, and focused. This is it. This might…. Not, this _will_ be the day. The day that he will finally take his second first step. And he will do it with his own strength. No support equipment, no stabilizators, nothing like that. Even Penny, as reluctant as she was, agreed to not interfere in any way.

Afterall, his implant finally worked properly. Both Penny and Geppetto had confirmed this. So now the only thing standing between him, and walking, was himself.

Jaune grit his teeth, trying to force his legs to move. For a few long, very long, seconds nothing happened. Then his right feet moved just a few millimeters. Jaune gritted his teeth and focused harder. After another few seconds, his left one pushed forward. It wasn't a step, more of him just twisting his hips to push his feet forward.

Jaune groweld, glaring at his legs.

_Come on. Move. Lift your leg, and push it forward. It's not that hard!_

He took a few deep breaths, and attempted to slowly lift his left leg. After a few tries, he finally succeeded. It was just a few millimeters, but his feet did left the floor.

_Good. Now move it forward._

Jaune made to do just this - but then his other leg buckled under his weight, causing him to collapse. Both doctors rushed to catch him, but he stopped them.

"No! I got this. I can do this." he said, more to himself than them.

Slowly, and after several failed attempts, he managed to push himself up. A few deep breaths later, he was ready for round two.

_Ok, just like last time, but faster. Lift up, move, place, shift weight._

He collapsed again, but just grit his teeth, and got up.

_No way I'm giving up. I can do this. I have to do this._

Several minutes and a few more falls later, Jaune finally managed to push his feet forward, placing his weight on it, and remain standing. He grinned viciously. He was doing this! He was really doing this!

He paid almost no attention to cheering of clinic personnel. Or pain in his legs, or burning in his lungs, or the sweat dripping into his eyes. The only thing that mattered was this simple sequence.

Shift weight to one leg.

Lift the other.

Move it forward.

Place it on the ground.

Shift weight to it.

Repeat with the other leg.

So Jaune repeated it again. It took him almost a minute to do so, but he did. Then he repeated it again.

And again.

And yet again.

He was panting, he could barely see because of the sweat in his eyes, his heart was pounding in his chest so hard he thought it might explode, and his legs felt like they were on fire.

He'd never felt happier.

Another step, and his legs gave up under him. He had fallen, too exhausted to try and steady himself.

His father caught him, and hugged him gently.

"I did it, dad." Jaune whispered.

"You did, son." Arthur confirmed, voice thick with emotion. "You certainly did."

* * *

Arthur watched his son carefully, as he pushed himself up. The older man did not move to help him - he knew Jaune didn't want it. After taking a moment to steady himself, he took his first, hesitant step. Then another, and another. Slowly, a smile appeared on his face, and he began walking with more and more confidence. When they reached the bench, Jaune sat on it slowly, making sure to not simply collapse, but steadily lower himself. He was panting, but he wasn't completely out of breath.

Arthur smiled. Jaune was really progressing fast. He made his first steps just two days ago, and now could walk around six meters on his own. So, after consulting it with Gepetto, he decided to take Jaune out for two days. It had been over five years since his son left the hospital, not counting his trip to Atlas. The first day they spend wandering through Atlas shopping district, visited a few of Arthur favorite restaurants, and a movie theater. Overall, in his opinion, it went well. Jaune returned to their hotel room very lively, with a broad smile, talking excitedly about the events of this day. There were a few moments when he went silent, and briefly a look of confusion appeared on his face. Arthur could only guess Jaune was trying to connect with Penny, but it turned out that even after downloading part of her data, they still couldn't talk when they were too far from her… _her_. Arthur wasn't sure if the strange machines in that room Gepetto showed them a few months ago counted as body of his son strange friend, but he guessed it didn't really matter.

Full of enthusiasm after successful first day, Arthur welcomed Saturday with a broad smile, and ready for another successful day of father-son bonding. Seeing as it was warm - well, as warm as Atlas could be - day, Arthur decided to go to a nearby park.

_Maybe it wasn't the best idea, afterall._

He thought around an hour later, glancing at his son. Jaune was observing people around him with a solemn expression. Arthur didn't have to ask to know what was bothering his son. Everywhere around him, he could see people walking, talking, just living they normal, everyday lives.

Something that Jaune couldn't experience for over five years now. And even though he'd made his first steps - there was no guarantee that he would make a full recovery. Arthur tried his best to cheer his son up, to take his mind off whatever dark thoughts plagued him, but it looked like the whole Atlas decided to band together to show young boy what he missed. What he lost.

Here a few families sat, adults talking, and children running around, playing, their laughter carried far by wind. There a couple walked slowly, enjoying the nice weather, and each other's company. Arthur growled when yet another person passed them in a light jog, Jaune's eyes trailing behind the young man, not much older than him with a hint of jealousy.

But when they stumbled upon a group of kids, around Jaune's age, armed with training weapons, and apparently about to have outdoor class, to the delight of the small crowd that started gathering around them? They way Jaune tensed when he spotted them, the way he soon slumped, eyes downcast, it was enough to convince Arthur to call this day over, and come back to they room. On the way back, they didn't talk much, every attempt at conversation quickly died in the heavy atmosphere.

Once in their apartment, Jaune retired to his room, claiming that he was tired. Arthur remained in the main room, lost in thought. He wanted, no _had to_ do something. He simply couldn't bear to leave his son in such a state. But what could he do? He couldn't give him back his lost years, as much as he wished he could. He couldn't speed up his recovery, it was all in Jaune's hands now.

And then he recalled conversation they had just a few days ago. They fire in Jaune's eyes, the passion in his voice… Sheer desperation he was looking at him with…

He didn't mention it again since then, patiently awaiting Arthur's decision, and focusing on his rehabilitation. But Arthur noticed glances his son sent him from time to time.

The older man groaned, hiding his face in his hands. The logical part of his was telling him to keep his son as far away from ARES as possible. Jaune might not have been at risk of dying before, but honestly, Arthur thought his state was much worse. For them, having to see him in that sorry state, and for boy himself, having to live like that. Could it be even called living?

But now, he was on his way to recovery. They should be thanking whatever Gods might listen for this miraculous chance. Putting Jaune in any danger, even as small as it might be, should be completely out of the question.

Then again… wouldn't that mean putting him in yet another cage?

Jaune had already lost a lot of time. Could they really afford to make him lose even more? His old dreams of being Hunter shattered the same day his spine did. His chance to be a hero, to leave his mark on the word, lost. Could Arthur really deny him this one?

He groaned again, and picked his scroll. What should he do? If Victoria learned he even _considered_ agreeing to this madness, she would skin him alive, and their daughters would probably be helping. Then again…

He took a deep breath, opened his contact list, and quickly scrolleld until he found number he was looking for. Arthur hesitated for a moment, and pressed the call button.

"_Yes?" _ a slightly tired voice sounded.

Arthur ran a hand through his hair. He still wasn't sure if it was a good idea. He closed his eyes, and image of his son flashed in his mind.

His son, his expression firm, fire of determination burning in his eyes.

And then another one, eyes downcast, expression defeated.

"How are you planning to do it?" he asked finally.

Gepetto Polendina remained silent for a few moments.

"_First, I want to learn more about his Semblance, and his senses augmentation. The latter, I believe is the main reason for his success. The former… I admit that it's mostly curiosity, but I believe if utilized correctly, it could aid him greatly. Then, some light tests, on standard medical equipment. After I have decent understanding on how it works, I'll start building prototype."_

"Government?"

"_Won't know anything until long after it's ready. I have much more resources, and influence than I had last time. I no longer need support from Army, or Council's approval, especially if we keep it small."_

Arthur remained silent for a few moments.

"I want to have daily reports on everything that you do. Anything that directly affect his body, needs my approval. Any practical test are done only with me around, or with my permission. The moment I say we stop, we stop, no discussion."

"_Understood."_

"Good. I'll bring him back today, he probably misses Penny. We will tell him tomorrow, before I leave back for training cap."

Gepetto nodded, and Arthur ended call.

He really hoped he was making the right decision.

* * *

**Here we go - Project Ares is on. What is it about? Well, you probably figured it out already, but if not, you just have to wait until next week.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Welcome to Ch 7. You know who to thank for making it readable.**

**JJD: Who?**

* * *

Jaune knew something was up the moment he met with his father this morning. He wasn't sure what it was. It was nothing he'd said or did, he was just giving off this... vibe. After breakfast, and a series of quick check ups, Arthur led him not to the rehabilitation room, but to Gepetto's private office.

Jaune could feel the tension rising with every second.

_So this is it, huh?_

He swallowed, watching the wooden, dark-brown doors getting closer and closer. His heart was beating so fast, it threatened to burst out of his chest.

When they entered, Gepetto was sitting behind his desk, looking over some files. He looked up when the doors opened, smiled, and put them away.

"Welcome. You want something to drink?"

Jaune just shook his head. He was too nervous to say anything.

"No doctor." said Arthur. "I think it would be best if we cut straight to the case." He pushed Jaune's hoverchair through another set of doors, into a much smaller, but more comfortable room. There were no windows here, Jaune noted, as Arthur sat on a small sofa, Gepetto took a plush chair, all three seated so they faced each other.

"Show him." His father said.

Gepetto pulled his scroll out, tapped a few buttons, and all the light in the room dimed. Second later, a holographic display appeared in the space between them.

Jaune's jaw hit the floor. He stared at the slightly blue-ish, see-through image, with wide eyes. It started slowly rotating, some data appearing next to it, but Jaune didn't pay it much attention.

It was humanoid in shape, bulky, but not grotesque. Its head was the same helmet that Jaune found in Gepetto's hidden files. It kinda looked like one of those knights from picture books Jaune's mom read to him when he was a kid, just… more futuristic.

And something about how it looked made him doubt it was simple robot. It didn't resemble the Atlesian knights at all, it looked more like...

"ARES stands for Aura Resonance Enhancement Suit." said Arthur, after giving Jaune few moments to gape in awe. "What you see is a prototype, the first model. It was never actually finished, the helmet you used to talk with Penny was only part we actually built."

Jaune's mind went blank for a moment. So it was true. It was a powered suit. The dream of every boy on Remnant - no matter the age. A staple of any sci-fi game, movie, or comic.

"Aura Resonance is something I discovered a very long time ago. In fact, I was still just a student. At first it was just a wild theory, but after some research, I was able to prove it was true. Unfortunately, my attempts to make practical use of it failed. Not only did I lack the resources and expertise, but we simply didn't have the technology to make it work. I had to wait for over thirteen years for a second opportunity."

"The Atlas Council got wind of Gepetto's research, and decided to fund it. We - I mean my second team - were recruited as test pilots. It was our first big job, we were very excited. And before you ask - the fact that both the project and our team had the same name is just a coincidence. Or at least, this guy say so." Arthur said, pointing at Gepetto. "I'm almost certain that he picked us _precisely_ because of our team's name."

Jaune nodded, trying to look at both men, and holograph at the same time. There was a small bit of hope blossoming in his chest. They took him to this room, showed him this prototype model, and we're telling all of this. Did that mean…?

"This time we were able to build several training models." Gepetto took over again. "Not full suits, Army didn't want to blow so much money, so we made the bare minimum needed for proper Aura Resonance. They were nothing more than simple metal frames, with helmets similar to the one you used attached to them. Unfortunately, this time we failed as well. While achieving Resonance was not much of a problem - all the test pilots were able to do it after just one week - maintaining it was a whole different story. No matter what we did, prolonged use can lead to severe side effects - disorientation, headaches, even loss of consciousness. None of the pilots were able to maintain it for longer than a minute. Eventually, after nearly eight years, the project was shut down."

"And this leads us to today. You managed to synchronize your Aura with the AR gear. You managed to achieve a stable connection, and hold it for several hours. It's true that you were sleeping for most of this time, but it changes nothing. That's why I strongly believe, with your help, we can really make it work."

Jaune swallowed.

"You mean…?' he asked, trying to not sound _too_ hopeful.

"Under _very_ strict rules, but yes, I will allow you to take a shot at this." His father said.

"YES!" Jaune cheered, jumping up in his chair. He probably looked stupid, with how he stumbled and almost fell, but he didn't care.

"Now, calm down, son." Said Arthur with a smile.

"There is a lot more you should know about the Project, but unfortunately, I have to leave soon, so I'll start by explaining the rules. Gepetto will fill you in on the rest."

Jaune nodded eagerly. He would agree to just about anything, as long as he got a chance to pilot one of those. Hell, if he could just put it on for a second, his life would be complete.

"So, Rule number one: Your mother and sisters can _never_ know. Both of our lives depend on it."

Jaune nodded eagerly. That was obvious.

"Rule number two:..."

Jaune listened to every rule his father set, instantly agreeing to all of them. None of them were unreasonable. And even if he thought some of them were a bit too much - one look at the pure awesomeness in front of him was enough to make him just nod and agree.

* * *

As it turns out, developing a super-awesome powered suit is super boring. Two weeks had passed since Project ARES restarted - and nothing really changed for Jaune.

He still got up early in the morning, had his normal breakfast, and then went to the rehab room, for his daily dose of torture. Then there was a launch and check ups. A lot of checkups. Gepetto said they needed more data on how Jaune's sense augmentation worked, how it affected his brain, and what the limitations of it were. And, while they were at it, learn more about his Semblance.

Jaune and Gepetto spent many hours talking about a variety of subjects, not always related to Aura, ARES, or his Semblance. The old scientist seemed to have an answer for just about any question, and was more than happy to share it.

"So… What is Aura Resonance?" asked Jaune.

Gepetto hummed, looking into his cup of tea.

"To put it very simply - it's a phenomenon where Aura starts affecting non-living matter. As you know, only living beings, like people, animals and plants have Aura. But some non-organic substances, after a long enough exposure, start to react to it. The most common example is Dust - it's so sensitive that even smaller bits of Aura cause a strong reaction. However, just about every other material has a very low sensitivity to Aura. That's why most Hunters use a single weapon though their whole career. Over time, through continuous Aura exposure, they become, almost literally, an extension of their bodies. Our goal with ARES was to create a suit of armor, with materials that would allow for achieving easy Resonance."

"But why bother? Couldn't you build a normal robot, just with space for humans inside?"

Gepetto chuckled.

"Oh, we tried. But there are many problems with such a design. First and foremost - weight. As you probably know, most Hunters do not use much, or any armor. Do you know why?"

Jaune shook his head.

"A little armor does not help them much. They prefer to rely on speed to avoid attacks, and if they do get hit - they have Aura to protect them. In order for armor to make a difference, they would have to wear so much of it that it would hinder their speed. And that would mean they would get hit more. Not only that, even the hardest materials have trouble standing up against bigger Grimm's strength. So, for armor to make sense, it would have to be made of extremely light materials, so it wouldn't hinder Hunter speed. It would also have to be strong enough to stop blows at least as well as Aura, otherwise, there is no real reason to bother."

"Making powered armor is something Atlas has worked at for many years now. But the problem we constantly ran into was the power source. We simply don't have a means to build one that would be small, light, and efficient enough to power armor strong enough to be worth using. That's where Aura resonance comes in. I discovered that after a Hunter's Aura start resonating with mech-shifting weapon, the speed at which they can transform it increases. In some cases, they could also initiate transformation by just touching the weapon, without the need to manually activate the mechanism. That gave me an idea." he leaned close to Jaune with a half smile. "What if we didn't need to add external power source to power armor? What if the pilot himself, or rather their Aura, was the power source?"

Jaune blinked in surprise.

"Wait, this suit will run on my Aura?"

Gepetto nodded.

"Yes. Like I said, the technology used to build your implant was initially developed for building this suit. Our idea was that, if pilot could achieve stable Resonance with suit, not only it would it get rid of the problem of power source, it would allow much smoother operation. You wouldn't need any kind of controls, the suit would move according to your will." He shrugged, taking a sip of his tea. "At least in theory. We never got that far with development."

Gepetto hummed, checking his scroll.

"It's getting late. I think it would be best if you go back to your room, Jaune."

"Oh, right. Goodnight Doctor."

"Goodnight."

* * *

Jaune awoke to a soft sound of some classic melody. He slowly opened his eyes and stretched, yawning.

"**Good morning, Jaune." **Penny greeted him as soon as he got up. "**It's 7:02, Friday. The temperature in your room is twenty five degrees. Temperature outside - twelve degrees. The sky is clear, and will remain so for most of the day. A light wind, from south-east."**

Jaune chuckled. For some reason Penny was determined to act like his personal secretary. He wasn't complaining, mind you. She really was a great help, but it still felt strange to wake up every morning to the sound of classical music (even though he found himself liking it more than most modern productions) and listening to a detailed report about his day.

He felt like a CEO of some big company.

"**You have a physical exams scheduled for 10:00, and Father wants to talk to you about something right after. No additional check ups scheduled for today." **she continued, talking as he washed himself up, and started dressing. The blond boy paused for a moment, surprised. The additional check ups' were when Doctor Gepetto examined his Semblance and senses augmentation. He had them basically everyday, ever since Project Ares started. Why stop now?

The young boy shrugged. Oh well, he would just ask man himself when he got a chance.

"**Also, Arthur Arc has arrived at the clinic today, at 4:36. He slept in one of guest rooms, and is currently discussing something with Father in his office."**

Jaune swallowed. He was happy that his father had come back with a visit, he really was. He just couldn't help but be a little afraid. He quickly ran through his recent activities, looking for something that might have changed his father stance on the ARES project. He couldn't think of anything, but this uneasy feeling wouldn't go away.

"Thanks, Penny. You are a great help, as always." He said, and smiled at the wave of satisfaction he felt from his friend. Not long after ARES restarted, Jaune asked if it would be possible to copy more of Penny's data on his implant. After some tests, Gepetto agreed, under the condition that he would be supervising process.

It went well, and right now nearly ninety percent of Penny's data was stored inside Jaune's head. Gepetto also advised that synchronization should be done while Jaune sleeps, to avoid interfering with his other activities.

Checking the small progress bar that Penny was transmitting to his scroll quickly become part of Jaune's morning routine.

_49%, huh?_ The blond boy winced. Yesterday it was 47. For some reason, the closer they got to 50, the slower the progress. Then again, it was similar to when they approached 40, and breaking that threshold resulted in very noticeable changes.

First of all, Penny's voice was clear now. While earlier it had just been a barely audible whisper, that he had to focus to hear, now he could hear her loud and clear. He wasn't sure if her ability to play him any music he asked for was something enabled thanks to breaking the first threshold, or simply something she discovered by accident, but he supposed it didn't matter.

He tsked and closed his scroll. Well, he really hoped they would breach the halfway point today, but it looked like he would need to wait a bit longer.

"Alright, let's get this day started." he said, getting up and taking his cane. He still didn't feel confident enough to walk without any support, but at the very least, he _could_ walk. This simple action, so natural for everyone, never failed to bring a smile to his face.

* * *

Jaune leaned against a wall, breathing heavily. In hindsight, maybe taking the trip to Gepetto office on his own legs, right after physical exams wasn't the best idea. But then again, the Doctor did said he wanted to see him as soon as possible to discuss some 'important matters'.

And Jaune certainly didn't want to keep the man waiting.

He took a few more deep breaths and pushed off wall, quickly - for him - covering the remaining distance to the now very familiar doors.

"Oh, welcome Jaune. Please, sit down." Gepetto greeted him as soon as he entered the office. He noticed his father was already - or maybe still - there.

"You wanted to talk about something, Doctor?" he asked, sitting in a chair next to his father.

"Yes, yes. Me and your father were discussing what we've learned about your abilities so far, and how to proceed with ARES. And we decided it's time to move to the second phase."

Jaune grinned.

"That's means…?"

"Yes." said Arthur, smiling at him. "Starting tomorrow, we start experiments with the training suits."

"YES!" Jaune cheered.

"Woah, calm down there, boy. It will be just testing the frame. There is still some work to do before we can build a real suit." said Arthur.

"I know! But it finally is… something! So far it's just been tests, and more tests, followed by yet more tests! It's been boring." Jaune said, pouting.

"Now, don't complain. At least you learned a few things about your Semblance. By the way, how is the thing with Penny going?"

Jaune sighed.

"We are at 49 percent. I was hoping we would pass 50 last night, but I guess we will have to wait."

"I see." Gepetto nodded, checking something at his terminal. "Well, we won't keep you any longer. If something changes, let me know."

"Sure thing. Good night, Doctor. See you later, Dad."

* * *

When Jaune woke up, it was to the sound of singing birds, and feeling of soft wind on his face. He opened his eyes, and looked around surprised.

_Well… this is not my room, that's for sure._

He was lying under a massive oak tree, in the middle of endless grassy plains, basked in the golden light of the setting sun. Or maybe rising? He wasn't sure.

Jaune got up, discovering with a small bit of surprise that it came to him easily.

_So a dream, huh?_

He looked around, wondering what to do. What did one do in their dreams? Shouldn't something happen on it's own? Well, whatever. First things first.

"Penny?" He called out.

"Yes, Jaune?"

Jaune tensed. Penny's voice sounded differently than usual. More...real. As if she really was there, not just cheating his brain into hearing sound that aren't there. Instinctively, he focused on the Link to reach her, and another surprised gasp left him. Even after months of being non stop linked, Penny's presence always felt vague. It was impossible to pinpoint her location, like with normal person. But now… he could feel her presence coming from one clear direction.

He turned slowly, very slowly, his heart beating like crazy. Could it be? Will he finally be able to…

No. He let out a frustrated sigh, when it turned out there was nothing behind him.

"Is something wrong, Jaune? Are you frustrated?" Penny hesitated for a moment, before adding carefully. "Did I do something wrong?"

"What? No! Of course not!" he said hurriedly. "It's just that… for the first time I could feel you coming from just one direction, so for a moment I hoped I might be able to see you."

"Oh." she remained silent for a moment,. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid it's impossible for me to make projections of myself that would be visible to you."

"I see." he sighed, looking round again. "So… what is this place anyway?"

"Would you like the detailed, or simplified explanation?"

"Simplified, please. I doubt I would understand a word of the detailed."

"Understood. Due to the recent increase in our synchronization, it seems like I gained the ability to interfere with your dreams when you reach the REM stage of your sleep cycle. This projection you are seeing is something I created, based on data from your brain." She remained silient for a moment, then added with a much quiter voice. "I tried to generate something relaxing, to allow more efficient rest. Is it to your liking?"

Jaune chuckled. Penny was always eager to help, sometimes too eager.

"It's nice. Very nice. I like it." he said, sitting down, and leaning against the giant tree trunk. He spent a few minutes just sitting there, before an idea struck him.

"Hey, Penny?"

"Yes?"

"Can you add other things to this?" he asked, making vage gesture with his hand.

"Of course! I can add any element you wish, as long as you've seen it, or something similar." she said, excited.

"Then.. could you add a lake? Like the one back in my hometown?"

"Certainly!" A few seconds passed with nothing happening. "I'm sorry Jaune, it appears I can't edit this projection as long as you remain aware." She said with a small voice.

"It's ok. I guess I'll just go back to sleep." he closed his eyes and relaxed. Soon after, he heard the first words of some song, and with a bit of surprise he realized Penny was actually singing it, instead of just playing a recording.

_She has a really nice voice…_

Was his last thought before he drifted off.

When he checked his scroll next morning, the progress bar was sitting at 51 percent.

* * *

Jaune shifted nervously. He, Gepetto, and Arthur were all standing in the elevator. The same one that Jaune used to get into Geppetto's secret lab what felt like an eternity ago. And he somehow doubted it was coincidence.

Sure enough, it didn't stop when they reached the ground floor, instead moving further down. Once down there, Gepetto led them through several corridors - it turned out it was a much bigger place than Jaune thought - to another elevator. The trip down was short, and when the elevator stopped, its doors opened to reveal a short corridor. There were two rooms on both sides that looked strangely like locker rooms. However, Gepetto led them straight ahead, to a set of massive metal doors. He placed his hand on the scanner next to them, and after a few seconds they opened with a hiss, revealing a massive room.

Well, room was an understatement. Over two hundred meters long, eighty meters wide, it was big enough to hold sports events, or concerts, inside. Right now though, it held what looked like an obstacle course.

Near the entrance, right in front of them, sat a metal, vaguely humanoid frame, with a very familiar helmet on top.

"Well." Said Gepetto, placing a hand on Jaune's shoulder "Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

_This… is a bit disappointing. _Jaune thought, taking a slow walk around large hall. When he learned they would be starting the second phase of testing, he had hoped for something much more exciting than just walking around.

Then again, he hadn't expected that said walking would be so hard.

He'd spent nearly two hours trying to take a few steps without tripping over his own feet. Keeping an active Link with his helmet required so much concentration, that Jaune could barely spare any attention on anything else. Penny tried to help, but unfortunately there was little she could do. So when after nearly four hours, all Jaune managed was to take a short walk, he thought he could be excused for feeling a bit down.

_I really need to stop getting my hopes up like that._

He thought bitterly, once he got back to his room. Oh well, no point in complaining. They would get to exciting stuff eventually.

At least, he hoped so.

* * *

Jaune grit his teeth, trying to not wince when the wire was attached to his implant. Nearly a month after the start of the second phase of Project ARES, Gepetto made several modifications to the original helmet. Beside optimizing the Aura circuits inside it, he also added a special socket that allowed it to be connected directly to Jaune's implant. It was a huge step forward. Thanks to the direct connection, Jaune didn't have to constantly focus on sending his Aura into the helmet.

"Are you alright?" asked his father. Jaune just rolled his eyes.

"Yes. You don't have to ask it every time we plug it in."

Arthur sighed.

"I know. It's just that..."

Jaune smiled. His dad was really worrying too much.

"I told you Dad, it doesn't hurt or anything like that. It's just… weird."

Arthur made a last check to make sure Jaune was properly secured in his frame and gave him a thumbs up. Jaune returned the gesture and put his helmet on. Like usual, he couldn't see anything, and the only sound he could hear was his own breathing.

Taking a deep breath, the young boy sent his Aura out, quickly forming a Link. Something _clicked_ inside Jaune's head, and suddenly he could see perfectly well. This time however, he didn't get disoriented by sudden flashes of light, weird colors, or any other things like that.

Jaune smiled, being directly connected really made this process much smoother. But, there was one more reason it worked much better now.

"**Connection formed and stable. Transfer efficiency at 49%. All systems nominal. We are ready to proceed with today's exercise." **

Jaune grinned. It turned out that having a co-pilot really helped with keeping the connection stable. Both him and Penny were overjoyed when they figured out that the wire connection allowed her more active participation in the project. For her, it was the simple joy of being able to do something. For Jaune - it was the fact that his best friend was happy, and her presence was always reassuring.

Now that he thought about it - they did almost everything together. Some part of his mind told him that might not be the best thing, to depend on each other that much, but he didn't really care. As long as him and Penny worked together - there was nothing they couldn't do.

They started, like usual, with a slow walk around the training hall. After two laps, Jaune broke into a jog. He managed one full lap before he had to stop to catch his breath. The metal frame he was tied to had several servo motors that helped him move around, but his condition was still weak, even after all the training he did. He looked around, focusing on the approaching form of his father. It was slightly blurry, as if he was looking through wet glass. Jaune sighed. The first thing that surprised him when they started the practical tests of ARES equipment, was that it never felt as if he was seeing things through some kind of cameras or visors. It was more like the helmet itself become his head, and he was watching the world through its eyes. It was strange, and a little off putting at first, but he slowly was growing used to the sensation.

The Doctor did say that if everything went well, the suit would feel like a second skin to him.

"So, how was it?" asked his father, handing him a bottle of water.

Jaune took off his helmet, and accepted drink with a nod.

"Much better. No sudden flashes, no weird lights, but if there are very bright and very dark colors next to each other, it looks… weird. I can still tell which color is which, it just seems off. It's hard to explain." He took a few gulps of water, and let out a pleased sigh. "And it's still hard to breathe in this thing. And hot. I don't really feel it when I have it on, but as soon as I end the connection, I feel as if I had my head stuck in a sauna."

Arthur nodded, taking the empty bottle from his son.

"The Doctor says he already resolved the overheating and air circulation problem with newest model. Colors might be a bit trickier, seeing as you can't give a good description of what the problem is. Any other problems?"

Jaune considered the question for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"Still have the water-vision problem. It's not as bad as it was at the beginning, but it's still there."

Arthur nodded.

"Got it. You think you can keep going?"

Jaune smiled.

"Sure. Just let me catch my breath. Another lap?"

"Actually, the Doctor wants you to try the obstacle course. Just easy things for now, mostly to see how it acts when you need to rapidly change the direction you are moving in."

The blond nodded and put helmet back on. It was time to get back to work.

* * *

Jaune relaxed, taking a few deep breaths. The change in perception was subtle. He could never pinpoint the moment when he switched from reality to 'The Room' as he and Penny called the private dream-space thing, but, as with many things regarding his strange friend, Jaune didn't bother to think too deeply about it. It just happened, it worked, and he was content to leave it at that.

When his eyes opened, he was no longer in his hospital room, but on a dirty road in some Vacuan city. Wind blew, carrying sand with it. The sun shone brightly, it was around noon. He looked around and smirked. The small town looked like a take straight out of Wild Vacuo movie - the single road running through the middle, and a few wooden buildings facing it. He could see a bank, a post office, a gun shop, and, of course, a saloon. He himself was dressed adequately too, with blue jeans, a dark-brown shirt, a scarf on his neck and cowboy hat on his head. Two colts rested on his belt, one on each side. Two belts with spare bullets hung on his hips. Jaune hummed, and tried to pull one of them out. To his surprise, it proved to be possible.

A small smile slowly crept on his face. Ever since they first discovered The Room, they met there every occasion they got. At first, this meant only when Jaune was sleeping, and only for a few moments then. But as Penny's synchronization with his implant progressed, it was easier and easier to enter this strange space. Not only that, the projection his friend created were becoming more detailed, and more realistic.

Jaune put the bullet back on his belt, and, after some consideration, walked towards the saloon. The main hall was half empty, only a few patrons sat here and there, talking, playing cards and drinking. Jaune sighed. It looked like Penny still had problems with creating human avatars. All the people in his… visions? Dreams? Were just black figures. It was kinda disturbing, but not as much as everyone looking exactly like him. Jaune shuddered at the memory. That had been really creepy.

He sat on one of the stools behind the bar, looking around curiously. This vision was the best one so far, but there was still room for improvement. Not counting the shadowy humans, Jaune could see a few flaws, like lights not working like they should, or spots where things glitched a bit. Eventually, his eyes fell on a glass, half filled with some amber liquid, standing in front of him. He picked it up and slowly swirling content of the glass. It acted fairly realistic, as far as he could tell. The way it moved, the way it distorted light - it wasn't perfect, but fairly good.

_Hmm.. so far I'd say 7 out of 10._

"Why don't you have a taste, good sir?" Asked a sticky figure that probably was supposed to be the barman in Penny's voice.

Jaune smiled.

"Sure. Why not." he lifted it in a toast to his friend, drinking it all in one go. He started choking and coughing immediately afterwards. Whatever it was, it burned his throat as if it was liquid fire.

"What the hell was that thing?!" he screamed out, when he regained the ability to speak.

Even though her current avatar didn't have a mouth, or face, really, Jaune could tell Penny was smiling brightly.

"Whiskey!" She announced proudly.

"Why the hell do you gave me alcohol to drink?! I'm underaged!"

Penny didn't looked apolegic at all.

"No need to worry, it wasn't real. I just stimulated your taste buds to simulate the taste of the drink. Do you understand what this means?!" she leaned over to him. He didn't need Link, to feel her excitement.

"Ummm… no?"

"It means I can finally make you experience _new_ things! So far, I was limited only to things that you have already experienced. For example, the only places I could show you here." she said spreading her arms wide. "were things you already saw. I could alter things a bit, like for example make you feel sand carried by the wind, but it was only because you knew how sand and wind feels. But now?" she spun around, before stopping and looking at him. He couldn't see her smile, but he certainly could feel it.

"Now I can show you anything! Any place on Remnant that was ever recorded, we can go there! Oh, I have _so_ many adventures planned out! It will be sensational!"

Jauen grinned.

"That sounds awesome." he agreed. "Just don't go showing me secret military bases or laboratories." he joked.

Penny remained silent for a few long moments.

Jaune stared at her, suspicion growing.

"Penny? You weren't going to show me any government-restricted things, right?"

"Of-_hic-_course not!"

Jaune groaned. He liked Penny, he really did, but her enthusiasm, coupled with a lack of common sense, was something that definitely needed to be fixed before she got her own body.

Well, he supposed it was kind of his responsibility. They were friends after all.

* * *

Jaune sat on his bed staring ahead, eyes wide.

An around thirty-centimeters high girl started back.

Well, he assumed it was a girl. She was made from pure green light, nothing more than a silhouette. He could make out a vaguely humanoid shape, and two slightly brighter spots that were probably eyes, but that was about it.

"Penny?" Jaune asked just to make sure.

The tiny girl in front of him nodded.

"That's right."

A few seconds passed in silence. When he woke up this morning, and noticed they had passed the 70 percent synchronization mark, he was very excited to see what new things this improvement would allow them to do.

It turned out, it allowed Penny to make herself an avatar. One that he could see even outside of the Room. She was floating around at about eye level, watching him curiously. Jaune took a deep breath, and slowly let it go. He had questions, several questions, and was desperately trying to figure out which one was a good start.

"So…" he drawled. "Can I touch you?"

…

Now that he said it out loud, it sounded kinda bad, didn't it? Fortunately Penny didn't look bothered, but rather lost in thought.

"I'm not sure if I will be able to properly stimulate the receptors in your hand to be able to register this form. But I'll try." She nodded, and Jaune slowly extended his hand. He stopped just a few millimeters from the miniature Penny. She looked at him, and nodded. Jaune took a deep breath, and moved his hand further.

It passed through Penny without any resistance. He didn't feel a thing.

Her disappointed expression mirrored his own.

"I'm sorry, Jaune. It seems like physical contact is impossible for now."

"Well, it's ok. I mean, it's some progress, we should be happy about it."

She nodded, and he thought he saw a smile on her face. But they didn't need Link to know they were also disappointed. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle. Just a few months ago, they were ecstatic just being able to connect with his Semblance. Then that suddenly it wasn't enough, and their desire to be able to hear each other's voice pushed them to finding out about ARES. Now Penny had body that he could see. It wasn't perfect, far from it, but to think it wasn't enough for them anymore? He shook his head. They really got greedy, didn't they?

"I'll attempt to find a way to enable us physical contact, but I think for now we should focus on the Project. Father said you should proceed straight to the testing facility."

Jaune hummed. He usually had his 'normal' activities in the morning - like rehabilitation, check ups, and so on. Sure, him moving around in this pseudo-suit counted as rehabilitation too, and dare he say was far more effective than normal one, but they needed to keep up appearances.

_Oh, well. Let's go and see what the Doctor have in store for me._

* * *

Jaune stared ahead, mouth wide open, and eyes wide. He was vaguely aware that someone was saying something to him, but he wasn't listening. He was completely focused at what stood in front of him.

About two and a half meters tall, dark-grey body, that didn't looked like it was made of metal at all, with proportions closely resembling that of a human. The only real difference was that its upper torso was very bulky, especially on its back, making it look like it was hunching.

Its head resembled the helmet Jaune was used to, but there were a few differences. It was bigger, and more oval. The forehead was extended, and lifted up, forming massive 'horn', similar to the previous model, but now there was flat surface below it.

Overall, the ARES suit - because it had to be it - was both more, and less than Jaune expected. It didn't give off this high-tech vibe, but at the same time, the fact that it resembled a humanoid so closely made it look, in his opinion, even more badass.

"So, ready for the first run in real thing, Jaune?" asked Gepetto a with smile.

The blond boy grinned.

"Let's do it."

He walked close to suit, and placed a hand on it. It was strangely warm to the touch, and not as smooth as he expected.

He focused, sending his Aura inside suit. After a second, its back started to open, revealing an empty space inside. Carefully, Jaune slipped in, and the suit closed itself around him in an instant.

"**Please stay still while I prepare connection." **Penny voice sounded. Jaune did his best to relax, even as he heard strange noise from behind him, and something connected to his implant. The tingling sensation of him connecting with suit was now familiar, and much easier to ignore.

"**Connection complete. Setting transfer limit at 20%. Complete. Performing safety checks… Complete. We are ready to begin, Jaune."**

The blond boy took a deep breath, and focused. As always, the transition was sudden. One moment he was in a dark, stuffy confinement of the ARES suit, next his perception shifted and he was looking at the world from a much greater height than usual.. He didn't feel suit's weight, he didn't see through some eye slits in its helmet. It felt more like playing games from a first person perspective. He could feel its artificial muscles contract when he moved its… _his_ hand. He could feel the floor underneath his feet, he could feel warm air on his skin.

No, that wasn't quite right, he realized after a few seconds. It was more like he knew those were sensations the suit was receiving, but he felt detached from it.

But despite that, the suit followed his every movement. He didn't need to put any extra effort to move its massive limbs, or head. Even if the sensations were muted, he could still feel things he was touching. It was really like Doctor said. It didn't feel like he was wearing any suit at all. It was as if it became his second skin. Or rather a second body.

_This… feels awesome. _

His father walked into his vision, watching him carefully.

"How are you feeling? Anything hurting you? Problems with vision? Breathing?" his voice was slightly disoriented, like it was coming from multiple places at once, but Jaune could detect a hint of worry in it.

"I'm… fine. It's just a bit overwhelming. Not that it hurts, it's just this sensation… I need a moment to get used to it." The older man nodded, and stepped aside.

Jaune looked around, then started moving his arms around. He did a few squats, and then carefully, took one step. He felt sluggish, like he'd spent a lot of time standing still, and now tried to force his stilled muscles to move.

_Heh, it feels quite familiar. _He thought with a bitter smile.

"_How does it feel?"_ Gepetto voice sounded in his ear. Jaune took a few more steps than stopped and shrugged.

"Fine, but sluggish. I don't think there is actual lag between me wanting to take a step, and actually taking it. More like the movement is too slow. As if I was walking in the water, or something like that."

"_This is probably due to the Aura transfer limit we set. For now, try to move around like that for a few minutes. If there are no complications, we try to increase it."_

Jaune nodded, and started moving around again. At first his steps were slow, measured, but over time he got accustomed to the difference in height and started walking with more confidence. After around thirty minutes, he even tried a light jog.

"Ok, I think we can move it up a bit. Penny?"

"**Understood. Increasing transfer limit to 30%."**

Jaune grunted, when the tingling in the back of his head intensified. He could feel everything better now, his vision wasn't as distorted too.

"**How are you feeling, Jaune?"**

"Fine." he said, flexing his fingers. He took a few steps, stumbled, then sped up to a light jog. He stumbled again, but managed to catch his balance before he fell.

"It's more responsive than before." He grinned. "Ok, let's see what I can do now." He started gradually accelerating, going faster and faster. He stumbled a few times, almost falling once, but he managed to stay upright.

"**Jaune, I'm detecting increase in your body temperature, as well as heart rate. I would recommend taking a break, while I analyze…"**

"Is it dangerous?" He interrupted.

"**No, it's not at a level where there is a risk of damaging your body."**

"Then let's keep going. We can't stop for every little thing."

"**Understood. I'll keep monitoring your body functions."**

"Thanks, Penny."

Jaune started running even faster. And faster. And faster. His breath comes in labored gasps, his legs were on fire, his whole body so hot he thought he will melt.

He was grinning like a loon.

He moved around easily, every movement fluid. No longer did every step felt like a chore, no longer moving just a few meters without having to stop to catch his breath was a success. He was running, moving faster than he ever thought he would!

_More._

Despite the pain, he tried to speed up even more. Some part of him was telling him it was stupid, that he probably should take a break, but he didn't care. All he wanted right now was to see how far, how fast he can go.

_More! _

Besides, he had someone watching over him, ready to stop him if he tried to go too far.

"**Jaune, your body temperature is reaching dangerous levels. Also, your Aura dropped below 50%. I strongly recommend stopping the current exercise."** His guardian angel spoke.

Jaune didn't answer. He would love to continue to run, to enjoy this sense of freedom. But even without Penny telling him he knew he was at his limit.

_Ok then. One more thing._

He tensed, bending his legs, then threw his body forward with all the strength he had left.

And fallen flat on his face.

Jaune chuckled. It hurt a bit, but his legs, and lungs hurt even more. No, his whole body felt like it was on fire, none of the exercises he went through during his rehabilitation had pushed him so far.

He chuckled again, coughed, and chuckled again. It soon turned into laughter.

"**Jaune? Are you alright?" **Penny asked. He could feel her concern, he knew he should probably calm her down, tell her he was ok, but currently was too busy alternating between laughter and trying to force some air into his lungs.

He didn't even notice when his connection with suit ended, or when his father and Gepetto pulled his sweat-drenched body out of it. He was still laughing.

* * *

**And that wraps it up. Jaune is enjoying his new toy, Arthur is praying he made a good decision, Gepetto is pleased he gets to play with his old ideas, and Penny is happy to spend time with her best male friend. **

**And now she can hijack his dreams. But there is nothing to be worried about - I mean, what could possibly go wrong?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Welcome to CH 8. I hope you will enjoy it.**

* * *

Jaune held his breath, desperately trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart. The sounds of footsteps were getting closer and closer, and despite his instinct screaming at him to move, to run, he remained still. Seconds ticked by one by one, he could now hear the two armed men talking. Could they hear his erratic heartbeat? Or was the sound of their own voices enough to mute it? Or maybe he was just overestimating they hearing? Jaune had no idea, but he certainly didn't want to test it. After a few more agonizingly long seconds, they passed the small room with cleaning supplies he was hiding in, and moved on. Jaune remained still even as they rounded the corner, long after their footsteps grew too quiet, even for his enhanced hearing.

"**Corridors are clear. You may proceed."**

He breathed a sigh of relief and moved out. There were cameras in the corridors, but he didn't care about those. Penny had already taken care of them. He moved quickly. Well, as quickly as he could. Penny, having control of all cameras in building, knew the exact location of every enemy. Thankfully, most of them seemed to be concentrated at a single point. They apparently also knew exactly what they were looking for, because none of the few patrols he met seemed as if they were looking for anything, or were in a particular hurry.

Jaune swallowed. Spy missions weren't anything new to him. In fact, they quickly grew to be his favorite type in Geppetto's 'game'. No annoying hostages to think of, no dumb teammates to mess up his plan, no bad controls causing him to fail like in those stupid flying missions. Just go in, do your job, and get out before anyone notices. Truly, missions that could be finished without directly engaging enemy were the best.

The fact that Penny could cheat the hell out of them might have been a factor too. The blond smiled at the thought of his friend. They were close to 90% of synchronization. Nothing spectacular happened when they passed the 80% mark, besides Penny being able to project her avatar - that still was just a vaguely feminine shape made of greenish light - more easily, and with a bit more detail. But he just knew that something big was going to happen after they passed the next threshold. He could feel it.

The blond shook his head. This was no time to distract himself. Trusting Penny to keep an eye on enemy patrols, he left his hideout and started moving as fast as he could. He couldn't stay in one place for too long. Even though patrols were rare in this part of the facility, he preferred to not risk anything.

Especially now, that failure had potentially much greater consequences than an end-game screen, asking him if he wanted to continue. Because this wasn't a game.

He had no idea what the White Fang wanted in the clinic, but Penny's warning was the only thing that allowed him to avoid capture when several armed Faunus burst into the clinic around thirty minutes earlier. According to his friend, so far no one had been harmed. The Faunus gathered several hostages, none of whom Jaune knew, into the cafeteria, mostly ignoring the rest of the patients and staff. They did something to cut off communication with the rest of the world, but allowed several nurses to continue to look after patients. So far, Penny wasn't able to determine what they wanted, but then again, the two of them had other things to do. After a brief discussion, they decided that the best course of action would be to hide in the basement. It being a secret floor with only a few ways to get there made it the perfect hiding spot.

Plus ARES was there, so if the worst happened, Jaune would have a much better chance to fight, or, more realistically, run.

For a moment the boy feared that this was what terrorists were looking for, but quickly discarded the idea. There were only four people that knew that the project had been restarted - Jaune, his father, Gepetto and Penny. They never mentioned it outside the basement, or Gepetto's office, there were simply no way for any information about it leaking out. So they had to be there for something else.

Or someone.

Jaune recalled that the clinic was in an uproar over the past few days. Apparently, some important people were coming over. Not that he cared - he had much better things to do than just listening to gossip.

Jaune paused in front of the doors leading to the staircase. The elevator was out of question - Fang sentries would notice him going down. Thankfully, there were a few other ways to get to the secret lab beneath the clinic. One of them was the elevator in Geppetto's private office. It was there that blond boy was heading. Jaune carefully peeked inside. There were a lot of blind spots for cameras on this floor, so even with Penny help, he still needed to be careful.

Several minutes, and a few close calls later, Jaune breathed a sigh of relief when the doors of the elevator closed in front of him. He was safe now, at least as safe as one could be in a building overrun by crazy terrorists.

_Ok, think Jaune. What now?_

Unfortunately, communication with the outside world was cut off. Penny told him she might be able to do something about it if he hooked her up to a separate network. They both agreed that trying to contact at least one of their fathers would be the best course of action, but Jaune was still concerned. What could White Fang hope to achieve by attacking a clinic? One of the few in Atlas that did not discriminate, and offered equal treatment to both Humans and Faunus.

He shook his head. There were no point in wonder about such things. All he needed to do was to contact his father, or Gepetto, and let them handle the rest.

_Where is the Doctor hiding anyway? I don't think he left the clinic..._

"**Jaune."**

"Yes, Penny?"

"**I'm still unable to make contact with Father or Mr. Arc. It seems like the White Fang used some external device to interrupt all radio signals coming out of the clinic."**

"Damn. Well, someone is bound to figure out something is wrong sooner or later. Or the Fang will make some demands at some point." he considered something for a moment.

"Can you listen in on their communication?"

"**Please wait… It seems they have three channels of varying security level. I can listen to the common one, but the other two will require direct connection from a source with a suitable clearance level."**

Jaune sighed. So, in other words, they would need to knock out White Fang members patrolling the clinic until they found an officer, so Penny could hack into their network. Well, that was out of the question. Playing Geppetto's game, he'd learned pretty quickly that people rarely just ignored patrols gone missing. Even if Penny managed to hack into their communication, and give false reports, someone would eventually recognize something was wrong.

"Allright, just listen on what you can." his eyebrows narrowed. "Wait. See if you can hack into the hostages' scrolls. Or any other devices with microphones for that matter. Maybe you will be able to listen into something they won't say through comms."

"**Understood. Should I keep you updated?"**

"Only if you learn something that will force us to change our current plan."

"**Understood."**

Jaune sighed again, when the doors of the elevator opened, revealing the now familiar corridor. He quickly made it to the locker room and opened his own, pulling on his 'uniform'. It was one of the 'upgrades' made by Gepetto when the second model of ARES was constructed. Before, Jaune was transferring Aura into suit mostly through his connection in his implant, instead just releasing it from his whole body, as Geppetto planned. It took them some time to figure out why, and the result was this body-fitting costume. As Gepetto assured, it was made of some super-high-tech materials, and was full of different sensors and other stuff that should let Jaune better pilot ARES. Objectively speaking, it looked kinda cool - black, body-fitting, with white lines running on the sides of his legs, that split, and crossed over his back and torso forming 'x' pattern, then connected again on his shoulders and running down his sleeves. They actually glowed slightly when he put it on, and even changed color to green-ish sometime.

The problem was it was very, _very_ body fitting. And tight certain places, that made it extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing to walk around in.

_Let me see… I don't plan on moving from here at all, so I could just hop in my normal clothes. Then again…_

He sighed and started to undress. One of many things he learned from Geppetto's game was that no plan survives contact with the enemy. And that it's better to be over prepared than underprepared.

Once he was done, he made his way straight to the main hall. His lips tugged upwards when his eye fell on ARES mk 2. It was actually the same model as before, just modified slightly. It was smaller than the original, sitting at 2.2 meters tall. Unlike its predecessor, its chest, arms, and legs were covered in several plates for additional protection, and it no longer had the strange hunch on its back. It was painted green and black, with a few red lines across its body. Overall, if someone saw it from afar, they could easily mistake it for a big man wearing full body armor.

Jaune placed one hand on it, smiling softly. In many games, movies and books, people mentioned that for experienced warriors their weapons become an extension of their body. The ARES suit wasn't weapon, at least, not in the traditional sense. But Jaune certainly felt some strange sense of... familiarity with it. Getting inside was a bit problematic without help, but he managed somehow. He couldn't help but smile when suit closed around him, even this weird, tingling sensation of his implant being connected to machine didn't disturbed him anymore. It all felt so familiar, so… right.

"Ok, Penny, give me run down of our current situation."

The little light-made avatar suddenly appeared in front of him. Jaune couldn't help but chuckle when he noticed it was wearing slightly cartoonish version of an Atlas military uniform. Several see-through screens appeared in front of him, and his friend began briefing.

"**The White Fang forces keep mostly to the ground floor." **she said, enlarging one of screens, showing detailed plans of clinic ground floor, with multiple red and blue dots on it. "**Shortly after securing the entrance, they rounded up a group of Atlas Academy students that were at the clinic for a standard health test, and confined them in this room."**

The screen blurred and split. He could still see a miniaturized map of ground floor in the upper right corner of his vision, but in the center he had several images. They varied in quality, and Jaune guessed they had to come from clinic security cameras.

"**There is a total of twenty two White Fang operatives. Two of them are guarding the cafeteria where the hostages are kept. Four more are guarding the main entrance, with two guards on both side entrances. There are three pairs patrolling around, but they do not seem too concerned about checking every room. So far they haven't attempted to harm any of the patients or staff members."**

"What about the security guards?"

"**Most of them were taken out early on. Based on recordings from cameras, some kind of gas was used. From what I can tell, no one has been killed so far."**

Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. Since it seemed like they went out of the way to incapacitate guards non-lethally, there was a good chance they might just demand ransom, or something else, and go away.

"**Three Fang operatives transported some strange device into the control room. My guess is that it's a signal jammer. The remaining three took over one of conference rooms, and are apparently preparing for some kind of broadcast."**

Jaune relaxed. All things considered, the situation didn't look too bad. It wasn't like the Fang would suddenly decide to kill everyone in clinic, right?.

"**Jaune… We may have a problem." **Penny said after a few seconds of silence.

Jaune groaned. Of course. What was he even thinking?

"What happened?"

"**Nothing… yet. It's just that I managed to identify White Fang leader." **Jaune's vision blurred a bit, and he was now staring at the face of a middle-aged man. His face was covered by a Grimm mask, but he could see the dark brown hair and lips pulled in a fierce scowl. Jaune didn't noticed any animal traits, but that didn't mean much. Next to the photo, a column of text appeared, presenting information of him.

"**They call him Jackal. His fanaticism is borderline insanity, to the point where even other Fang commanders are wary of him. Not only that, his methods are… ruthless, even by their standards. His first public appearance was three months ago. Attacked SDC convoy, killed all the guards, and made a show of torturing and executing prisoners."**

Jaune gasped. This was bad. Very, very bad.

"You think he is preparing another public execution?"

Penny was silent for a few moments.

"**I can't say for sure. None of White Fang soldiers made any mention of their plans, or…"**

"Penny. Be honest with me."

"**It's almost certain. At first he was attacking and killing whoever he could get his hands on, but recently he started focusing on murdering families of prominent Atlas figures."**

"And let me guess - among those who come from Atlas Academy, there are kids of important families?"

"**Correct."**

Jaune groaned, considering his options. Speaking objectively, it had nothing to do with him. He was safe here, in the basement. Even if the Fang somehow figured out this place existed, there were only a few ways to get there - and all of them could easily be blocked by Penny. Even if they did get in by force - he was certain that with ARES suit he could run away.

But was he really willing to leave those people to their fate? The answer was obvious.

"Penny, you still can't contact Gepetto? Or my father?"

Her avatar remained silent for a long moment.

"**No, all frequencies used by scrolls are jammed. But according to intel I acquired, Atlas is aware of this attack and is preparing a rescue squad. I might be able to contact them using encrypted Atlas military channels… though I can't say for sure for how long such connection would remain undetected. I would suggest sending a short, written message, if you want to try this method."**

Jaune sighed. One of these days, he would need to sit with Penny, and explain to her why breaking into secret military and government networks was bad. But for now, he let it slide. He was planning a rescue operation of Atlas people after all. The least they could do was let him contact their own forces.

Speaking of which…

"How long till they get there."

"**ETA - 20 minutes."**

Not that long but Jaune didn't let himself hope.

"But they won't make it in time, right?"

"**No. If his actions so far are anything to go by, Jackal will start the executions soon."**

Jaune took a deep breath, and slowly let it go. Damn it, damn it all. Why him? Why did he have to make such a decision? He was just a fifteen-year old cripple. What could he realistically do? Sure, he had his super cyber-friend, and super-high-tech power armor, but…

"**Jaune, the most logical course of action would be to stay here. The Fang do not know about this place, and taking any action would put both you, and Project ARES at risk. According to the directives set up by Father, and Mr. Arc, I have to advise against engaging the White Fang."**

Jaune smirked. Those words might have sounded cold, he might have been put off by them...

"But?" he asked, rolling his shoulders.

"**I.. don't want to stay and watch as those people are getting hurt. If I… If we can do something… I very much would like to try."**

Jaune grinned.

"Well, that's funny, because I was thinking the same."

Penny beamed at him - actually beamed, her avatar for a moment shining like the sun. When light fade, she spun, few times, Atlas military uniform materializing around her body.

"**That's sensational! Team Jaune and Penny's first mission - rescuing hostages!" **Her eyes - or rather spots where her eyes would be if her 'body' wasn't just an illusion created from light - shone pale green. He didn't even need the Link to feel her excitement.

"Alright, planning time. Map."

The floor plan of the clinic appeared in front of him yet again. This time however, the red dots marking Fang patrols moved around in real time. There were red lines along corridors, no doubt marking the usual patrol routes.

"All hostages are in single room so far… but they increased the number of guards." It looked like they were no longer concerned with protecting doors - only one red dot remained near the main entrance. Two stood in front of the cafeteria, where the hostages were held, and four inside, one in each corner, surrounding group of blue dots huddled together in the center. Jaune winced. A frontal assault was out of the question. Even if he was armed and took guards outside before they could alarm they comrades, three out of four Fangs inside had a clear view on the doors. They would raise the alarm as soon as he entered, and there was no way for him to take them all out quickly.

He needed a distraction.

But first things first.

"Ok, equipment check. What do they have?"

"**Analyzing… Enemy equipment consists mostly of standardized assault rifles with basic body armor. I do not detect any dust augmented ammunition, explosive, or heavy weaponry. According to my data, the ARES suit should provide sufficient protection against enemy fire. The only real threat is Jackal himself. He is an Aura user, and is equipped with a Hunter grade weapon. I am unable to predict how effective our armor will be against him. On top of that he is an experienced fighter. I would advise avoiding direct confrontation at all cost."**

"Ok. What do we have?"

"**Unfortunately, our equipment selection is limited to the ARES suit. However, since its parameters closely resemble that of the human body, you should have no problem using enemy equipment."**

Jaune sighed. It wasn't much - but he could work with that. He listened carefully as Penny gave him all the information he could need. Once she was done, they spent a few minutes planning. Jaune would prefer more, but they were on a time limit. There is no telling when the White Fang would start killing hostages.

* * *

Jaune took a deep breath and slowly let it go. This was it. The point of no return. Soon, one of Fang patrols would walk past his hiding spot. If he wanted to back down, and leave hostages to their fate, all he needed to do was to sit quietly and let them pass.

Because if he followed the plan he and Penny come up with, there would be no turning back. Jaune winced. It was rushed, full of holes, and, after the first step, it could be summed up to 'improvise,' but it was the best they could come up with.

Jaune tensed when his enhanced hearing picked faint sound of footsteps. His heartbeat quickened, his breath became ragged.

_Calm down. Just calm down, you got this._

He squeezed two Shock Dust crystals a bit harder. Penny assured him the ARES suit had enough strength to knock out Aura-less person without a problem, but Jaune insisted they find other way than him punching people in the face. It wasn't because he doubted his friend's words. Quite the opposite - he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control the suit's strength, and accidentally kill someone. And that was a line he wasn't prepared to cross.

The steps were getting closer and closer. He could hear them approach the room he was in. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when they stopped in front of doors, but to his relief, they just reported in and continued their patrol.

"**Jaune, this would be the best moment to begin the operation."**

Jaune took one last deep breath, and moved. The two Faunus turned on him the moment he burst out of the doors, guns already lifted, but seeing in person over two meter tall, armored, black-and-green powered suit caused them to pause in shock. That moment of hesitation was all Jaune needed. He thrust his hands forward, crushing the Dust crystals on their chest. A few seconds later, he dragged two unconscious bodies into room, and used sheets from the beds to tie them up. He removed the headset from one of them, looking it over carefully.

"So, what's next Penny? Do I need, I dunno, connect it to the suit somehow?"

"**No need. I already began hacking… done. We have access to their base channels of communication. Should I put it on speaker?"**

"No, I'll leave it to you. Just inform me of any important things."

Penny's avatar nodded.

"**As you wish. Objective number one complete. Let's move onto the next one."**

Jaune nodded, and moved towards the window. This side of building had less cameras, and was on the opposite side of clinic that the room where hostages - and most of Fang soldiers - were located. Therefore the chances of someone noticing him when he climbed the clinic wall were low. That was why they decided to use this as their route down from Gepetto office on the clinic's fourth floor, to this room located on the second. It was a bit... well,_very_ scary to climb down like that, but he somehow managed it. The second time was much easier, but he still felt much better when his feet finally landed on solid ground.

A quick look around revealed he was alone, and without hesitation Jaune ran according to the directions Penny gave him. There were no windows below the first floor on this side of the building, so unless one of the Fang soldiers patrolling the higher floors decided to randomly peek through the window, no one should spot him.

Jaune paused when he reached the corner. This part was tricky. Their destination - the clinic security main office was a relativly small, square bulding. There were at least a hundred meters of free space between it and any other bulding, ensuring that whoever was inside could see anyone approach form far away.

Releasing this bulding from Fang control was important for two reasons. First, it was there that they set they jammign device. Neutralizing it would allow Jaune and Penny to get in contact with outisde world. Second - even though Penny could hack cameras and feed the Faunus terrorists false information, the longer they held control of the camera room, the bigger the risk of them noticing something was wrong.

"**Jaune, I have good and bad news for you."**

The blond sighed. He knew it was going too well.

"Ok, hit me. Bad news?"

"**It seems like they are trying to get access to Father's private files."**

Jaune tensed.

"They know about ARES?!"

"**I don't think so. It doesn't appear like they are looking for anything specific. More like they are just looking at random in the hopes that they will find something valuable."**

"Ok. So, what is the good news?"

"**We might be able to use it as a distraction. Most of the files they are looking through are just smokecreen left by Father for just such an occasion. They are not real projects, but I could edit some of the files to make them belive they found something important. Also, I managed to contact the Atlas military, and inform them of our situation. They thanked me for the update and suggested we focus on disrupting the White Fang's operation, rather than trying to free hostages on our own. They advised taking direct action only if we are certain their forces will not make it in time."**

Jaune smiled.

"I see. Aren't they suspicious at all? Us suddenly contacting them so soon after the attack…"

"**I don't think so. Besides, they didn't provide any intel, just a few suggestions of how to proceed. I think they assume we are one of their soldiers, or just a Hunter that happened to be at the scene during the attack, and are desperate enough to accept any help they can get."**

"Got it." He hummed, lost in thought. "Say, could you switch the clnic to the emergency power supply?"

Penny pasued, and he could feel surprise and uncertainty coming from her.

"**Yes… I think… Yes, I can do it. But why?"**

Jaune shrugged.

"Distraction. The more things they have to worry about, the less time they will have to look for us. Or execute hostages."

"**But wouldn't it put them on guard? Such intervention could make them believe they are under attack."**

"You could make it look like they triggered some kind of safety protocol. I mean, if they managed to hack into some important files, it wouldn't be too surprising for there to be some serious security."

Penny nodded.

"**Excellent idea. I'll begin preparations immediately.**

It took Penny five minutes to set everything up. She prepared fake files regarding some ridiculous project. At first Jaune was afraid she is going overboard - everyone knew that space travel was impossible due to the fact that Dust engines stop working above a certain altitude, but, somehow, she managed to convince the Fang operatives that Gepetto was working on some kind of orbital battle station.

Jaune snorted. It appeared that the old man's reputation as a brilliant, and mad, scientist was working in their favor now.

The live footage Penny provided him showed three Faunus huddled over single computer. According to Penny, those were all people in the building. With their attention firmly focused on their great discovery, Jaune managed to reach the building undetected. Now comes the hard part. Disabling all of them without raising the alarm. He didn't have any Dust on him this time, so he would have to rely on his fists.

_Allright. Show time._

Lights all around clinic flickered and went off. A few seconds later, the emergency power supply turned in. Jaune could hear some panicked voices coming from inside.

Taking a deep breath, he burst through the front doors, and spirinted through the narrow corridor, ignoring doors on either side. He could hear the surprised voices of Faunus from the control room in front of him. He noticed doors opening, and someone peeking outside to see what was going on.

Jaune didn't bother slowing down, instead he slammed into doors, carrying both them and unfortunate Faunus with him. Not wasting a second, he grabbed the dazed man and threw him at his companions. One of them maged to jump out of the way, but the other two collided and fell to the ground, groaning loudly. The blond boy turned to the last standing Faunus, noticing his two feline ears and how his eyes widened and mouth hung open when he saw what exactly attacked them, and perhaps most importantly - the assault rifle in his hands.

Jaune kicked off, jumping over the two downed terrorists and slammed his fist into the face of the gunner, robbing him of consciousness almost instantly, but not before he managed to squeeze trigger. The blond boy winced when he felt the impact on his chest and stomach. The first few bullets ricochet off the armor plates covering his torso, but they soon cracked, and several bullets went through.

"**Jaune! Are you alright?"**

The blond boy winced, lightly massaging his chest.

"Yeah, I think so. I thought suit was supposed to be bulletproof?"

"**My apologies, I miscalculated. I didn't take into account taking sustained fire from such close range. It seems that even though the armor plates covering suit are capable of withstanding extremely powerful impact, they are not very durable."**

"It's ok. I don't think any bullet actually went all the way through. It hurt, but I'll be fine."

"**Please stand by, while I… Oh no…"**

Jaune tensed.

"What happened?"

"**It seems that the sounds of gunfire reached the clinic. Jackal is trying to contact those Faunus."**

"Then answer him!"

"**Understood. What should I say?"**

"I don't know! Think of something. Something believable, like, I don't know, security protocols they triggered activated some hidden security mechas or something!"

A few seconds passed in tense silence, while Penny tried to calm down the Fang commander.

"**It appears I managed to convince him that the situation is under control. However, he said that they will be beginning the 'final phase' soon. I don't know the details, but…"**

Jaune swallowed. Both him and Penny had a pretty good idea what the 'final phase' will be.

"Well, I guess we have no choice but to speed up things a bit. Are the hostages still being held in the cafeteria?"

"**Yes. But assaulting this place when there are four guards inside will be risky."**

"I know, but I'd rather get them out of there before Jackal shows up. Besides, they are form Atlas Academy, so I assume they have their Aura unlocked." He sighed. "It would be best if we could drag guards out of there, or at least distract them somehow." Jaune walked towards the strange, clearly out of place device attached to one of the terminals.

"For now, see if you can bring back communication with the outside world."

"**On it. Scanning… Done. Turning this device off shouldn't be hard, but enemy forces are sure to notice. Should I proceed?"**

Jaune shook his head.

"No, let's try to keep quiet for as long as we can." He said, marching out of the command room,

trying to come up with some sort of plan on what to do next. Obviously, they had to do something about the hostages, but what? Just charging in room with four armed men and a group of people that may, or may not, have their Aura unlocked was not something he wanted to do, but what alternatives did they have? With time being of the essence, they had to act fast…

"Say, Penny, could we fill the cafeteria with some kind of sleeping gas? Like for example, the kind that is used to put people to sleep for an operation?"

"**Negative. Not only would achieving high enough concentration would take too much time, most Faunus would be able to smell it long before it started working."**

Jaune tsked. There had to be some other way. What was a good way to disable large groups of people non-lethally? Beside gas, there was always flashbangs. Too bad that he didn't have any, and didn't really know how to make one. He could probably put something together with Penny's help, but it would require time, something they had very little to spare.

"Ok, I'm open to suggestions." He said slowly, advancing along outside wall to where the cafeteria was. He stopped near the corner of the wall. Penny was constantly displaying the position of remaining White Fang soldiers for him. From what he could see, There were still four guards inside the cafeteria, but now only one was guarding the doors. Not that it changed much. He still had to figure out how to disable all of them before they got a chance to shoot the hostages.

Penny remained silent for a while, and Jaune started to get nervous. There were no windows on this side of the building, and the chance one of Fang would just decided to take a stroll and stumble upon him was next to none, especially with Penny monitoring them, but if all those spy missions he'd done in Geppetto's game were any indication, after taking out the first guard, it is just a matter of time before someone figured out something is wrong.

"**Jaune, I think I've got something. I managed to take control of the clinic broadcast system. If I crank up power of speakers in the cafeteria to maximum, we should be able to produce a sound loud enough to disable the White Fang operatives, at least temporarily."**

Jaune grinned.

"Sounds good to me, but can you do it on the whole floor? "

The little Penny in the corner of his vision tilted her head in confusion.

"**Yes,? If we do this, every White Fang operative in the clinic will know something is up."**

Jaune sighed, rolling his shoulders.

"They will realize either way, if they haven't already, but if we make noise on the whole floor, it might take them some time to figure out exactly where we are."

Penny considered his words for a few moments, then nodded.

"**I see. Very well, I'll begin preparations. But I have one suggestion…" **

"Yes?"

"**I should be able to send a few short messages without the White Fang noticing. We could try to contact Mr. Arc or Father. They might have some suggestions on how we should proceed."**

Jaune hummed. Contacting his father, as tempting as it sounded, was a bad idea. The moment he learned he was picking fights with armed terrorists, his life was over. Forget continuing the ARES project - he will be grounded for life!

Gepetto sounded like the better option - this was his clinic afterall, maybe he had some kind of super-powered mecha soldiers as security, just waiting to be awakened. But then again, the old doctor promised to keep Arthur updated on everything regarding Jaune and ARES. The blond boy somehow doubted the old scientist would agree to keep this little episode secret from his father.

"Contact the authorities, let them know whats going on. And tell them to hurry, we sure as hell will need backup once the White Fang finds out we are here."

"**Understood." **Penny focused, searching through nearly infinite source of information that was REMNet. Finding what she looked for only took a few moments - really, the Atlesian military should invest in some better security for their secret communication protocols - and she began forming a message.

* * *

Several kilometers away, in a makeshift camp serving as headquarters for the Atlas Anti-Terrorist Unit responsible for handling the attack, one of the soldiers ran up to the commanding officer, saluted, and handed him a scroll-pad.

The older man looked over it, then at soldier who brought it.

"We're sure its form the same source?"

"They used a different channel. Not our own, and less encrypted, but still not something your average Joe could access. The message is composed similar to previous ones."

"Do we know who it is?"

"No. Probably still wary of the Fang intercepting message."

"Or it can be the White Fang themselves, trying to send us false intel."

The soldier shrugged.

"It's a possibility, but a small one. The message was encrypted according to protocols used by our special forces."

Arthur Arc nodded, and focused on the scroll pad he held. The message they received just a few moments ago was just a seeming random collection of numbers and letters. Below the original message, there was a translation. The message was short, just as soldier said, containing only the most essential intel. It was a short update on the situation in the clinic. Most important were the last three lines.

_Hive was stirred. Going with first song. Need guitar asap._

Which meant that White Fang were ready to start the execution, and their mysterious ally decided to go with the initial plan of trying to free the hostages on their own, and that they would need backup as quickly as possible.

It was risky, very much so.

But at the same time, everyone in the tent knew reinforcements would not make it in time. Jackal never waited for long, always eager to spill blood.

"Can we contact them back?" He asked finally.

"Yes, but they said they don't know how long they can hold the line open. If we want to send them instructions, we have to do it now."

Arthur took a deep breath, and slowly let it go.

"Tell them to try and rescue hostages. If they succeed, tell them to lead them to them to the emergency shelters. Send them the entry codes too."

"What if there are casualties?"

"I'll take full responsibility."

The soldier saluted and made to leave, but Arthur stopped him.

"One more thing. They should avoid engaging Jackal at all cost. That man is far too dangerous."

Arthur sighed, and massaged his forehead. This whole situation was a mess. He just hoped Jaune was safe.

Then again, his son was smart enough to stay out of trouble.

* * *

It was terrifying.

Emily Marigold was never as terrified as she was at the moment when the White Fang soldiers appeared out of nowhere and started shouting at them, waving their weapons and pushing them around. They gathered them in the cafeteria, ordered them to sit in the middle and wait.

For what, they didn't tell them.

But judging by who was leading them, it couldn't be anything good.

Jackal.

Crazy… well crazier than most White Fang commanders, he made quite a name for himself in the past few months. His name was whispered with hatred and fear by members of the Atlas elites. And now, he was there, planning to do who knows what with them.

She hugged her knees harder, trying to suppress the shaking. One of her classmates tried to negotiate with the Faunus, buy out their freedom.

The only thing he got for his trouble was beating so harsh, Emily was surprised he was still alive, but that might not be for long.

She wanted to do something, but what? The white Fang soldiers don't tie them up, but the four armed guards watching their every move was enough to stop any attempts at escape. Even if they somehow managed to subdue them, there were still more outside, and communication with the outside world was cut off. They were trapped, at the mercy of their captors.

She let out a resigned breath. Waiting, turns out, sucked. She wished it would end already.

And then the music hit.

No, calling it music was wrong. It was as if solid wall of sound suddenly hit them. Emily instinctively covered her ears, noticing her friends doing the same. She looked up, and couldn't stop small, satisfied smirk appearing on her face. The White Fang soldiers, with they enhanced hearing, had it much worse. All four of them dropped to their knees, trying to cover their ears.

And then, a portion of front wall exploded inwards and _something _burst in. It was big, painted black, with several lines running around its body that pulsated in the soft light, changing from green to white.

Emily started dumbly as it picked up the nearest White Fang soldier, still stunned by the loud music, and casually threw it at another one, standing on the opposite side of the room.

She didn't hear them collide, but judging how fast the Faunus flew, she doubted either of them will be getting up any time soon. Without wasting a second, their savior - and she honestly hoped that was the case - rushed to deal with the remaining two terrorists. The fight, if it even could be called that, was short and completely one-sided. The Faunus, still stunned, couldn't react properly to the sudden assault, but Emily doubted that they would be able to take the mysterious armored figure even if they were prepared for it.

As she watched it dispatch the White Fang grunts, her mind raced. Who, or what, was that? She doubted it was some Hunter that was just passing by, and there was no way the Atlesian Police, or Military, or whoever was responsible for dealing with terrorist attacks could arrive here so fast.

If they even knew what was going on.

So, was it some kind of android? They weren't exactly a rarity in Atlas, even models for domestic use were becoming more and more popular. But she'd never seen, or even heard about one that looked like that.

And the way it moved… It was too fast, to fluid. Completely different from any droid she'd ever seen before.

Then again this was clinic of _the_ Gepetto Polendina. The man was well known genius, and eccentric. It wasn't too much of a stretch to think he might have some super robot as his private bodyguard, or something.

Emily watched, mouth agape as it dispatched the last guard by slamming him into wall, cast a quick glance at students, and marched towards the doors. It paused in front of them for a moment, its head tilting from one side to the other as if it was considering something. Or maybe talking with someone?

Then both of its hands shot forward.

Considering how easily it walked through a _wall,_ simple doors might as well be made of paper. Moments later, a lone Faunus guard was pulled back in, held by his head, and struggling desperately to break free. But instead of knocking him out immediately, mysterious figure paused for a few long moments. For what reason, Emily didn't know, but soon enough the Faunus was slammed into the wall. His struggles stopped, and he dropped to the floor.

The music - or rather the noise - stopped, and their savior turned around and took a few steps towards them. None of them moved, or made a sound, everyone waiting with bated breath for what will happen next.

The mysterious person stopped a few steps before them, and looked over sitting teens. Then it spoke.

"Salutations! Are you unharmed?" A cheerful, vaguely feminine voice sounded.

* * *

**And here we go. First combat test of ARES - and so far our duo is doing well. Was it a good idea to let Penny handle the talking? Well, considering the only other option was Jaune, it very well might have been the best option.**

**Also, this chapter was a real bitch to write. My biggest problem was how to make Jaune pull off the whole action sequence without making him look over-competent, and/or White Fang look like idiots. Rescuing the hostages was the hardest part, but I think it turned out well enough.**

**See ya all next week.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Welcome to CH 9. Enjoy.**

**JJD: ****Metal Gear Jaune, mission start**

Jaune sighed, shaking his head. He was hesitant about letting Penny do the talking, seeing as her knowledge about human society was vague to say the least. But then again, he wasn't too good at this whole 'talking with strangers' thing, especially if they were a bunch of Very Important Kids of Very Important Parents.

Fortunately, it seemed like Penny's strange behavior hadn't caused the gathered teens to be suspicious. They followed her instructions without complaining, only offhandedly commenting on how 'the old doctor made something crazy again'.

Jaune wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that everyone seemed to think Gepetto making strange, crazy things was the norm. Then again, it worked in their favor. The ARES suit was supposed to be a secret, not to mention Penny. If those people wanted to believe they were saved by a new model of Atlesian Knight, and not the first ever suit of powered armor, piloted by a teen who was paralized just a few months ago and a fully sentient AI? Well, Jaune wasn't about to go out of his way to correct them.

The blond boy relaxed slightly. A quick check of the feed from the clinic cameras showed that Jackal, along with most of White Fang soldiers, was still in a control room, hunched over one of a terminals. What they were doing there, he had no idea, but trusted Penny to warn him if it was something troublesome.

For now his first priority was to get these hostages out of there. They were currently stretching and checking each other for injuries - the result of Pennys instructions. Jaune wasn't sure if it was necessary, but he wasn't about to complain. She probably knew what to do better than him, which wasn't hard considering he had no idea what he was doing. Everything from the moment they left the clinic basement was just improvisation and pure luck. Now, considering their plan, he could easily point out multiple weak points, where they had basically relied on luck to make things work.

But it looked like it was over. The hostages were freed, the main threat remained occupied in the control room, and Penny had managed to contact the authorities and inform them about their situation. It turned out Atlas was already aware of the attack, and reinforcements were already on the way.

So all that was left was to sneak about twenty teens out of the cafeteria, and keep them hidden from the White Fang until Atlas police, military, Hunters, or whoever was responsible for dealing with such situations arrived.

Easy.

"Umm… excuse me?"

Jaune turned to the source of the nervous voice. There stood a girl, in what he assumed was an Atlas Academy uniform, her eyes scanning his face - or rather the suit's helmet - with a mix of anxiety and curiosity.

Or at least, that's what his Link told him she was feeling.

He offered her a smile, before remembering she couldn't see his face. He made to speak, but clamped his mouth shut. It was best to not talk too much. Call him paranoid, but every word he, or Penny, spoke increased the chance someone would figure out that it was a living, thinking being behind this suit, not just a simple AI. Thankfully, the girl in front of him didn't seem to need any encouragement to speak.

"We are missing one person. Henry Marigold, he was separated from our group as soon as we arrived. Can you locate him?"

Jaune groaned. Of course it couldn't be that easy.

"Penny?"

"**Already on it. Scanning… I got him."**

A blurry image popped up in his vision. He could just make out a bound and gagged boy. It was hard to tell any details, but at the very least he looked alive. Moments later, next to the camera footage appeared a photo of a young, handsome, blue-haired boy. Blue eyes, fancy outfit, and a confident smile, Henry Marigold looked like the textbook definition of a rich boy.

"**What are we going to do, friend Jaune?"**

The blond sighed.

"Where is he?"

"**In the conference room."**

So the place where the White Fang had set up their broadcasting equipment, and where no doubt Jackal would head right after they finished up in the command room.

The blond sighed. They couldn't very well abandon a hostage, so there was only one option left - go after him. But on the other hand, leaving all these people alone was risky. Should he escort them first, or go for the last hostage? Maybe the Atlas forces would arrive in time to prevent his execution?

Jaune groaned. What should he do?

"Penny." he spoke after a few moments of hesitation. "Contact the Atlesian forces. Tell them our status, and ask how we should proceed." Yeah, that was the best course of action. Sure, every message they sent was a risk, but the White Fang already knew they were there. The time for subtlety was over. And there was no point trying to act on his own, when he could ask professionals for instructions.

He didn't have to wait long for a response.

"_How likely is it for hostages to encounter an enemy if they move on their own?"_

Jaune considered the question for a moment. Penny was still providing him the location of all the remaining hostiles in real time. It looked like Jackal had pulled all his forces into the command center. His friend was doing her best to keep his attention, but it wouldn't last long.

"Penny? Can you mark the safest route to the shelter?"

"**Yes." **A map of the clinic, and the surrounding area, with a bright red line marking the best way to reach their destination." "**If we take this route, the chance of encountering opposition is close to zero."**

Jaune nodded.

"Good. Upload this map on one of their scrolls,and keep an eye on them. Contact my father, and tell him we found a way to safely deliver the hostages to the shelter, and will attempt to free the last prisoner."

"**As you wish, Jaune."**

While Penny was busy relaying the message to the Atlesian troops, and uploading the map on the rescued hostage's scroll with the safest route to the shelters marked, Jaune was analyzing the clinic layout, trying to figure out the best way to approach his task.

The last hostage was held in a small conference room, and there was only one door leading inside. That meant that, unless he was willing to break several walls, he had very limited ways to approach.

Luckily for him, it seemed there was only one guard.

Jaune's eyebrows furrowed. A quick check confirmed that Jackal and rest of the White Fang troops were still in the control room, but the young boy couldn't help but worry.

So far his little operation was going well, very well. Jaune knew he should feel happy, but if Gepetto's game had taught him one thing, it was that if everything was going according to plan, you probably were walking into a trap.

But no matter how he looked at this situation, he couldn't figure out how something might go wrong. Penny could track the enemy with cameras, listen on their comms, and even use their own scrolls to ascertain their location, even if they walked somewhere where cameras couldn't see them. On the other hand, the White Fang had no way of tracking them, even though they probably figured out something was wrong by now.

The blond boy grinned.

_Penny is too OP. No nerf needed._

He jogged through the clinic's halls, completely trusting his friend to warn him of any danger. With Penny at his side, he didn't have to worry about any ambush. He could afford to be a bit more reckless.

Or so he thought, before he felt a strong hit from behind, followed shortly by powerful discharge of electricity.

Jaune screamed, momentarily panicking. He was being attacked? How? All the enemies should be in the command room. The displays Penny provided him clearly showed no one leaving.

"Penny, damage report!" He shouted, turning around to face his attacker.

"**Enemy weapons failed to penetrate armor, and since the suit does not use traditional circuits, electricity has little effect on it. The suit can still operate at its maximum efficiency. But more importantly... " **

"Yeah, I know." Jaune chuckled nervously, eyeing the Faunus standing in front of them.

He had no idea how the White Fang managed to fool Penny, but it looked like Jackal finally sniffed them out.

* * *

The two opponents stood in the middle of the devastated room, each taking a short break from their last exchange. It had to be some kind of conference room, if a large number of chairs surrounding the small podium was anything to go by. Currently, most of the furniture was broken, the floor and walls littered with burns and holes. Some were small, left by bullets and Jackal's spear.

Some were much bigger - a testament to the strength of his opponent.

One in particular was large enough for a grown man to walk through it without the need to bend.

Jackal winced. He was no stranger to crashing through walls, as most Aura users were, but being _pushed_ through one was a new experience for him. And somehow it was worse.

Jackal sighed, eyeing the tall figure standing in front of him. When he and his men figured out they were under attack, he wasn't sure who to expect, but he certainly didn't expect an over 2 meters tall, armored and extremely dangerous warrior. Judging by his stealthy approach, and how easily he hacked into their communication, Jackal assumed he was someone well versed in espionage. A skilled tactician, and no doubt an experienced fighter - a member of the Atlesian military, or maybe a Hunter.

Judging by the full body armor, that looked like something pulled straight out of a sci-fi movie, the second option was more plausible. But that raised a few questions. Besides the obvious, 'who the hell is that?", and "what the hell is he doing here?", there was no less nagging "how the hell we did we not notice him?" After all, they had hacked into the clinic surveillance system almost a week ago, observing personnel and patients, making sure there would be no surprises like this one.

But it didn't matter now, did it? What mattered was what to do next. Jackal gripped his weapon tighter. His ambush failed, and now he was forced to fight against someone bigger, and as he quickly figured out, stronger than himself. To make matters worse, his attacks didn't seem to have any effect on his opponent. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't spot any gaps in the armor, this thing didn't even have any eye slits.

But as their fight went on, Jackal noticed something surprising. Sure, his opponent was strong, and could quickly cover distance by jumping around, but his attacks were telegraphed. His footwork was terrible, to the point that he tripped a few times, almost falling over. And on top of that, his defense was garbage.

Sure, one might assume that with such heavy armor he simply didn't care about blocking Jackal's attacks, but the Faunus could clearly see him try to do so. He just couldn't keep up.

So either he was fighting against someone with no combat training, who somehow managed to get ahold of some crazy high-tech armor, quietly neutralize several White Fang agents, and now was going toe-to-toe with an experienced Hunter-level fighter… Or this thing was no _person _at all.

With a sigh, Jackal charged in yet again.

* * *

"Damn it!" Jaune shouted, when yet again his attack missed. Seriously, at this point he should probably stop trying to get on the offence and focus on defending.

At first things were looking up for him. Jackal fought very defensively, trying to keep his distance. That was good for Jaune, because the Faunus was completely unprepared for how fast the ARES suit could cover distance. Jaune managed to grab him, and pushed him up against the wall, hoping to somehow knock him out. Unfortunately, the wall gave out, and they both stumbled into another room. The blond boy tried to get ahold of his enemy, but a few bullets hitting him in the back forced him to reconsider. Knocking the lone White Fang grunt took only a moment - but it was more than enough time for Jackal to recover.

And the longer the fight went on, the differences in skill became more and more apparent. Jaune couldn't hit his opponent, he was too fast, too slippery. It felt like no matter what the blond boy did, he just opened himself for another attack. It wasn't that he couldn't see them coming, but he simply couldn't keep up with the Faunus' speed and agility.

"Damn it!" Jaune growled yet again. Even after Penny basically uploaded military hand-to-hand combat manual directly to his brain, he still couldn't do anything. He knew exactly what he _should_ do, every attack that was coming his way he knew _exactly_ how to counter.

But, as always, his body was failing him.

"DAMN IT!" he roared, throwing a wild hook that was easily dodged. The following strike to the back of his head sent him stumbling forward.

"**Jaune, be advised that excessive movement will only increase the drain on your Aura. I advise taking a more defensive approach, while we wait for reinforcements"**

Yes, reinforcements. He knew it full well, Penny informed the incoming Atlas forces of their encounter with Jackal, along with confirmation that most of the hostages were safe. They told him to hold on for just a bit longer. He knew Penny was right with her advice, but it was just so damn frustrating. He knew Jackal was a far superior fighter, but to think he couldn't land even a single hit on him?

He almost won this, when he grabbed the Faunus. If only this guard didn't distract him, if only his body would move as he wanted it to.

If only he wasn't a cripple.

"**Jaune, calm down. It's alright."** Penny's soothing voice sounded in his ear.

The blond boy took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Penny was right, as usual. He was only tiring himself out, trying to fight someone who probably trained for longer than Jaune was alive. Trying to defeat Jackal was pointless, and it had nothing to do with him being a cripple.

_Allright. Stop making an idiot out of yourself. Hands up, legs bent, and try to not get hit anywhere important._

Granted, he had no idea where the weak points on the suit were. Come to think about it, he knew very little about this suit. Gepetto once tried to explain the details to him, but for Jaune it was just meaningless babble. But he knew that he had additional armor on the torso, arms and legs, so he decided to defend his head.

"Penny, damage report."

"**I estimate overall damage at around 78%. Most damaged areas are legs and the right arm, with the torso and head remaining mostly intact. It seems like Jackal decided to focus on the joints, and is slowly wearing them down. According to my estimation, he should be able to immobilize us in around 5 minutes."**

Jaune winced. That didn't sound good.

"How long till reinforcements arrive?"

"**No more than 3 minutes."**

Well, that was good news. Too bad it still might be too slow.

"**All essential systems remain operational at 100%. Aura Transfer is currently set at the maximum allowed level. However, the temperature inside of the suit is reaching critical levels, and the drain on your Aura is exceeding estimated values. There is a high chance you run out of Aura, or lose consciousness due to extreme heat before help arrives." **

_Damn._

Jaune jumped a few steps back, his mind racing. What were his options?

Attack.

Defend.

Run.

Those three.

Defending was going… ok-ish so far, but as Penny said, Jaune probably won't be able to last long enough. He already felt dizzy, to the point it was hard to focus on anything. He needed to do something, and do it fast.

"**Jaune, I strongly advise retreating. You Aura dropped below 35%. At the current drain rate, you will lose the ability to operate the suit in around 1 minute and 50 seconds."**

"Sorry, Penny, but I don't think he will let us just walk away." said Jaune with a bitter laugh, eyeing Jackal who had just jumped back a few steps and was watching them.

He couldn't hold off long enough for reinforcements to arrive. He couldn't run, not that he would even if it was an option. Afterall, if he was gone, the last hostage was as good as dead.

That meant that he had to somehow defeat Jackal on his own.

In a damaged suit, low on Aura, and almost cooked alive.

He had to beat an opponent that had proved to be vastly superior to him.

Jaune chuckled.

It was just like Gepetto's game.

"Allright, Penny, we can't run, and we can't hold him off. That leaves us with only one option."

The little avatar of his virtual friend tilted her head to the side. She no doubt could feel his excitement.

And desperation.

She probably knew what he was going to suggest even before he spoke. She didn't argue, besides informing him how stupidly reckless it was.

Jaune just smiled. They both knew they had no other choice.

* * *

Jackal relaxed a bit when it became clear his opponent wouldn't attack him. Was he human after all, and took the chance to catch his breath, just as Jackal? Or was it a machine programmed to remain on standby when not under direct assault?

Well, it didn't matter, did it?

What mattered was what he should do next.

Destroying this strange mecha was tempting. Jackal had no idea how many of them Atlas had, but if his guess was correct, not many. Anything that could delay development of these things, would no doubt benefit the White Fang. Even if it was not a mecha, but some kind of armor - taking it, and its wearer, out of picture would be a good idea.

On the other hand, killing a high-profile hostage, even if it was only one, would send a much better message. One broken robot was nothing compared to the corpse of a kid from some influential family. The problem was that his opponent seemed determined to stay between Jackal and the doors leading to the room where the hostage was kept. How he knew its location, the Faunus terrorist didn't know, and frankly didn't care at this point.

This mission was a failure, and the only option left was to cut his losses short.

Jackal scowled and bent his legs, preparing for another charge. At the very least, he had to make sure this thing wouldn't follow him and his men. His eyes briefly darted to the unconscious Faunus laying a few meters to the side - a guard he left to keep an eye on the prize. He was knocked out almost instantly after the two of them burst into this room. A brave man, tried to support his leader, but to no avail.

For a moment Jackal entertained the idea of grabbing him and running away, but he doubted he could outrun this strange mecha while carrying someone. Unfortunately, this man would become just another casualty in the war against humanity.

Focusing back on his opponent, he tensed, preparing for another charge. So far attacking its joints had proven to be a good strategy - the armored figure noticeably slowed down, at some point even completely abandoning offense in order to better protect itself.

Taking one last deep breath to steady himself, Jackal bent his leg, a plan of attack already forming in his head. He would charge in, aiming for the head, then circle to the right and attack the back of his opponent's knee. Then jump back to avoid any counter and…

The armored figure exploded. There were several lines on its stomach and arms that pulsated with soft white light. At first Jackal tried to target them, thinking they might be weak spots, but attacking them didn't seem to have any effect.

Now, those lines erupted with light, covering his opponent in white flames. Or at least it looked like flames.

_Is this… Dust? _

The armored figure shifted one foot forward, bending slightly, preparing for a charge. The white flames surrounding it grew even larger, its foot sinking several centimeters into the floor.

Jackal cursed and jumped back, creating as much distance as he could. He had to avoid whatever was coming next at all cost, and pray that whatever it was preparing wasn't anything too crazy. The only silver lining was that it probably wasn't any wide scale attack. His opponent, whatever it was machine or human, wouldn't risk hurting patients.

Right?

Jackal tensed. It was going to happen any moment now. The next few seconds, they would decide everything. He had to focus, unless…

"Standby mode." A new, oddly calm voice sounded in the room.

Jackal cursed and turned towards the new arrival. To his surprise, it wasn't Atlas military, or some Hunter - but an older, short man wearing a white lab coat and half-glasses.

A man that Jackal recognized easily.

Doctor Gepetto Polendina looked remarkably calm for a civilian stepping into the same room as a known, and dangerous terrorist. He also didn't seem bothered by all the destruction around him. His only concern seemed to be for the armored figure, now kneeling on single knee, with one fist resting on the ground, a position similar to a knight of old kneeling before his lord.

Gepetto paused in front of it, examining it for a few moments, then let out an annoyed sigh.

"You damaged it." He said, without even turning around.

Jackal didn't respond, didn't even moved a muscle. On the outside, he might have looked calm, but his mind was racing.

Gepetto Polendina, a man widely considered to be one of, if not the brightest scientists in the world. He excelled in many different fields, and was one of the main reasons for Atlas' rapid technological advancement in recent years. Among his many achievements, perhaps the most well known was his work on developing the Atlesian Knights.

If any other White Fang members found themselves in such close proximity to this man, they no doubt would charge in, doing their best to end his life.

Jackal however didn't move from his spot. He was not an idiot afterall, and he knew Gepetto wasn't one either. In fact, the old scientist was known to be a very careful man, to the point many called him paranoid.

Sure, he might be civilian, with no Aura or combat training.

But he still was a genius scientist.

Assuming that he showed up in the same room as an armed, and dangerous criminal without some way to protect himself was idiocy. Jackal was ready to bet anything that the old doctor had numerous safety measures in place.

Portable shield generators, super-thin material designed to withstand impact from anti-grimm weaponry weaved into his clothing, devices dispersing paralyzing gas, or strong electric current if he was hit by a suitable force - those were only a few of what the White Fang knew Gepetto had in his arsenal. And all that assuming that he was even here in person. This could as easily be a hologram, and any reckless action could leave him open for an attack.

"Well, I guess it couldn't be helped. After all, this model was not designed with combat in mind." The doctor muttered, examining the knight-like figure.

_So it is a robot after all. And what the hell does he mean it's not designed for combat?_

Jackal spared a quick glance around the room. Whatever its intended design was, it certainly could put up a fight.

"I wanted it to be used by emergency services. I guess designing it to withstand extreme temperatures, as well as strong impacts from big chunks of debris, would make it quite resistant to damage suffered in combat…" the old scientist continued his monologue, apparently completely forgetting the Faunus terrorist. He paused for a moment, stroking his chin and muttering something too quietly for even Jackal's enhanced hearing to pick up. Finally, he let out a tired sigh, and turned to face the Faunus.

"This was your que to leave, you know?" He said casually.

Jackal snorted.

"And present my back to an enemy? I'm not stupid."

"You are, if you think staying here any longer is a good idea. Your men must have informed you that the Atlesian military will be here any moment."

Jackal winced. They did, and were currently preparing for their last stand.

"And what, you are going to just let us walk away?" Jackal scoffed.

"Sure." Gepetto answered easily.

Jackal just stared at the old man for a few seconds. Was he for real?

"You are telling me you will let a group of wanted terrorists, that just assaulted your clinic, walk away? Just like that?"

Gepetto shrugged.

"As long as you refrain from damaging my property, and endangering patients and staff of my clinic, then yes, that is exactly what I'm intending to do."

"Why?" Jacka asked before he could stop himself.

Gepetto rolled his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?" he said in the kind of patronizing voice that parents might use when explaining something very simple to a child. Jackal probably would have felt offended, if he wasn't so shocked.

"This is a clinic. There are ill people here - people that need rest - in peace and quiet. They can get neither when you and my baby over there are trashing everything around you. So, to ensure that my patients, and staff, are no longer in danger, as well as avoid further damage to my clinic, AND my newest invention, I'm completely willing to let dangerous men leave unhindered."

He smiled and patted the killer robo-knight kneeling next to him.

"Alternatively, I can let my baby go at you at 100% power and see how well you fare. Even though it was not designed for combat, I think we both can agree it did pretty well up until now. Enough so that I'm getting curious to see how well it would fare against a full fledged Hunter at its full power. So, Mr. Jackal, the decision is yours."

Jackal stared at the old scientist. This could be a bluff. It might be that the machine was no longer operational, and Gepetto was just desperate.

He also might be trying to mislead him. Saying that he would let it operate at full power might seem threatening, but the important question was - how much of its power it displayed already?

Was it 50%? 70%? Or maybe 10%?

Jackal recalled the white flames surrounding this strange robot and winced. He really didn't feel like finding out.

So, instead of saying anything, he started slowly backing away, towards the same hole he made when he was pushed into this room.

"You can grab you friend over there too. In fact, I would very much appreciate it if you did." Gepeto called out, his back once again turned towards Jackal.

After a brief consideration, the Faunus moved to the unconscious terrorist and picked him up, all the time keeping both Gepetto and his 'baby' in sight. Only when he left the room, and neither made move to follow, he relaxed a bit, a small smile appearing on his lips.

It wasn't over for him yet. He would be able to continue his fight.

* * *

"_Jackal and his men just left the clinic perimeter, Father. Atlesian Soldiers should arrive in 1 minute and 12 seconds._"

Gepetto smiled at the voice of his daughter. It was metallic, and lacked any emotion, but for him, it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. He wondered how it was for Jaune? When they communicated, directly in his brain, how did her voice sound?

And speaking of the blond boy…

"Let Jaune out. I'd imagine it must be very hot inside."

The back of the suit opened up, and the blond boy fell over with a loud groan. He hit the floor with a whet splash, but didn't make a move to get up. His whole body was drenched, and not all of it was his sweet.

Gepetto hummed. He really would have to find a better way for regulating temperature. This special gel seemed like a good idea on paper, but it certainly was too messy.

"How do you feel?" he asked, kneeling next to the young Arc.

A low groan was all the answer he got. He carefully examined the boy. His skin was flushed red, but there didn't seem to be any burns. A quick check of his scroll showed no abnormalities in his implant performance. Other than extremely low Aura, the boy seemed to be alright.

"Take deep breaths and drink this. Hurry up, you will need to get back in the suit soon."

At this the boy finally moved, his head slowly turning towards Gepetto.

"The Atlesian military is coming. Late to the party, like usual, but they will be sniffing around, asking questions. I'd rather they don't find you collapsed next to a never before seen suit of powered armor."

Jaune just groaned again, slowly pushing himself up.

"Does it even matter anymore? All the hostages saw me." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I think I kind of busted ARES out, didn't I?"

"You did." Gepetto confirmed. "ARES is out in the open, and far earlier than I anticipated."

Jaune slumped.

"So, what do we do now?"

"You need to get back to that suit before anyone sees you. Even though people know about ARES, then don't know _what_ it is. If I can convince them it's an experimental droid, that I was putting together in my spare time, we can still salvage this situation."

Jaune chuckled nervously, getting up with the doctor's help.

"I-I really messed up, didn't I?"

Gepetto lifted one eyebrow.

"Did you now? I would say you did a remarkably good job."

Blue eyes shot upwards meeting his own. Gepetto chuckled, ruffling Jaune's hair.

"I know we talked a lot about keeping ARES a secret, but it was never meant to be one forever. Sure it's ealier than I wanted, but I'd rather have it exposed than have group of terrorists commit mass murder in my clinic. That way I won't have tons of very annoying people on my head."

Jaune managed a weak smile. He made to say something, but the sound of cars coming to a sudden halt in front of the clinic stopped him.

"We will talk later, Jaune." Gepetto said with a smile. "For now, hop back in, and try to act like a robot."

* * *

Somehow, they managed to hide the ARES suit in one of the back rooms before Atlesian soldiers stormed in. After searching the clinic, and making sure there were no more White Fang operatives on the ground, they began questioning both Gepetto and the freed hostages. The old doctor led a few officers to his office, where he answered their questions.

No, he wasn't at the clinic when the attack happened. No, his security guards didn't slack off. He had no idea if there was some freelancer Hunter, or an Atlesian soldier in the clinic at the moment of the attack. He didn't registered all the visiting guests, but yes, he would check it out. No, he can't say if this was one of the patients - all data regarding his patients was confidential.

He refused to comment on the 'super cool robo-knight' that supposedly rescued the hostages.

Sure, he would provide them with the recordings from the cameras - but they were heavily tampered with. Yet again no, he did not think any of his employees was involved in the attack, and if the Atlesian military did stop treating those two Faunus guards he was hiring as criminals, he would have words with General Ironwood himself.

One of the officers jokingly asked if Gepetto was secretly building his own army of robots to take over Atlas.

The old scientist politely declined, pointing out he had no need to build an army of robots in secret. If he wanted to take over Atlas, he could simply use the existing one.

For some reason, they didn't laugh.

After nearly two hours, the officers left, thanking him for his cooperation. Gepetto smiled, said it was no problem, wished them to fall down the stairs and break their necks - not out loud of course, and finally fell in his chair with a loud groan.

There was this rumor going around that Gepetto hated the military, and everyone connected to it. That was just not the case.

On the contrary, he had a great deal of respect for people putting their lives on the line so that people like him could stay safe and mind their own business. This was part of the reason he was investing so much in developing technologies that could help wounded soldiers live normal lives.

And ones that would prevent suffering said injures in the first place.

What he hated was something else.

Bureaucrats.

Especially the ones pretending to be soldiers. Like those three that just wasted his time. Not a day in the field, no achievements to their names, besides being born into the right family.

Gepetto scoffed. Why was Ironwood accepting people like them? Ah yes, politics. Possibly the only thing he hated more than bureaucrats.

The old doctor relaxed in his chair. He knew he was not done for today yet. And he didn't even mean the press, police, or the concerned family members of his patients. No, he would deal with them later.

Now, he had to somehow tell Arthur that his son engaged a group of armed terrorists. And that was a conversation he was _not_ looking forward to.

He didn't have to wait long for the man to walk into his office. The fact he walked in calmly, and sat on one of the chairs with small smile told Gepetto that the Arc patriarch still haven't figured out what really happened.

"So, just how many surprises you are hiding away?" Arthur asked after they exchanged a quick greeting.

"You're talking about this... Robo-knight?" Gepetto asked to make sure. "I assure you that it wasn't anything like that. ARES is still the only secret project I'm working on right now."

For a brief moment Gepetto considering taking the easy way out, and pretending he really had some high-tech robot hidden somewhere in the clinic. But saying so would probably mean he would have to show it to someone at some point.

No, trying to lie to Arthur was a bad idea. It was best to come clean, and hope the man wouldn't explode.

"No need to hide it from me, doctor. I talked with some of those kids. They just couldn't shut up about how cool it was. And the fact that it didn't show up on _any_ of your cameras? We both know it was you who edited it out."

Gepetto shook his head.

"Actually, it was Penny. I'm not sure how, but she somehow prevented it from being recorded in the first place. I'll definitely will have to talk about it with her, and tell her to stop casually breaking into military networks while I'm at it."

Arthur hummed.

"So I guess the one who contacted us was her?"

"Correct."

"Well, that would explain a lot. So, for real now, who or what is this knight?"

Gepetto linked his hands on his desk, and didn't say a thing. He could see Arthur's eyes narrow at the lack of response - and then suddenly widened when the realization struck him.

"No… Please, tell me it's not what I think it is." He whispered.

"I'm afraid I can't read your mind, I'm not your son. But yes, it was him and Penny."

* * *

They found Jaune in the underground floor, slumped against the ARES suit. His head rested against the machine's leg, eyes closed, and hands resting on his legs. It appeared he was sleeping, but as soon as Arthur and Gepetto got closer, he cracked open one eye, and smiled weakly.

"Hi doc. Hi Dad."

"Jaune." Arthur nodded. He hesitated for a moment, then sat down next to the blond boy. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." Jaune answered weakly. " Like, totally spent both mentaly and physically."

Arthur hummed, wondering what he should say.

One one hand, his fifteen year old son, who was a cripple for the last five years, decided to pick a fight with over twenty armed, and very dangerous terrorists. Ones that wouldn't hesitate for even a second to kill him.

One of them was even a trained Aura user for fuck sake!

'Reckless' didn't even begin to describe it.

He should be angry - and he was. His first intention after Gepetto told him what happened was to call off ARES immediately, resign from his current job, take Jaune back to Vale and ground him for a lifetime.

On the other hand, his action did save the lives of hostages. Everyone from the response team knew full well they would not arrive in time to stop Jackal from killing. The best they could hope for was to catch the bastard.

And take care of the bodies.

But Jaune prevented this tragedy. He and Penny somehow managed to not only free the hostages held in the cafeteria, they even fought Jackal to standstill.

This ought to make him proud.

And it did. Enough to make him unsure what he should do. Especially considering the fact that, technically, it was him who encouraged his son to do all of it. Sure, he didn't _know_ it was him, but this changed little.

His son saved those people.

Arthur sighed, running a hand through his hair. What should he do? It would be much easier if Jaune was acting reckless, and his success was a result of pure luck, but the young boy approached the whole situation remarkably well. He didn't try to fight the White Fang head on, instead he took a more careful approach.

Why did this have to be so complicated?

Next to him Jaune let out a sigh on his own, and slowly pushed himself up. Arthur knew it wasn't easy for him, and the blond boy visibly struggled, yet the older man made no move to help him.

He knew his son didn't want it.

When he found his feet, the blond boy smiled wishfully, his hand slowly trailing over the ARES suit.

"I guess this is goodbye."

Arthur stared at him for a long while. It was times like that he really wished parenting came with an instruction manual.

"Well, I guess I better go back to my room." Jaune turned, and started slowly walking towards the exit. Arthur leaned back, closing his eyes. What should he do? Did he even need to do anything? Jaune provided him with an easy solution - if boy himself decided to quit, it spared him from having to _make_ him quit.

It was an easy way out. But was it right?

Objectively speaking, keeping his children away from danger was a parent's duty. In a perfect world, a kid in Jaune's situation would never have had to face such a situation. But that was the point, wasn't it?

Remnant was not a perfect world. Far from it. It was filled with all kinds of monsters preying on the weak and helpless. That was the reason they needed Hunters, and they were trained from young age. Kids, even younger than Jaune, were spending their youth learning how to fight and kill monsters. If Jaune was a Hunter in training, he would probably be applauded for what he did.

Especially considering how smooth the whole action went.

_But he is not. He is a cripple._

Arthur groaned, and got up himself. What should he do? He spared glance at Gepetto. The old doctor was busy checking something on his scroll, or at least pretending he was. No help there.

"Do you regret it?"

Jaune paused, his hand already at the door handle. He remained silent for a few long moments.

"No." he said finally, turning to face his father. "I don't. I would do it all over again If I got a choice."

Arthur sighed. When did his son become so mature?

"Go back to your room and rest. ARES will be suspended temporarily, until Gepetto deals with all the fallout."

Jaune perked up.

"Temporary? Does that mean…?"

"We will talk about it later. No go." Said Arthur.

The blond boy smiled, nodded, and left the room.

"I'm surprised." Said Gepetto, eyes still locked on his scroll. "I was certain this would be the end of ARES."

Arthur chuckled.

"Would have made dealing with Council much easier, wouldn't it?"

The old doctor shrugged, finally looking at the other man.

"Maybe. It shouldn't be too hard either way. Probably will have to waste a few weeks going to hearings,until they realize that they will not gain anything from trying to force me to give them this technology."

Arthur nodded, rolling his shoulders.

"So, what will you be doing now? About ARES I mean?"

Gepetto hummed, tapping his chin with his index finger.

"I obtained some interesting data from this little incident. I'll need to examine it more carefully, see if I can't use it to improve its performance. Other than that, I think I'll continue examining Jaune's Semblance. I have few theories I need to verify."

"Anything I should know?"

"No." Gepetto answered with a smile. "Not at all."

* * *

**And here we go. Metal Gear Jaune's first real-life mission ended in success. How well will he do next time? What crazy new ideas will Gepetto come up with? Will Penny learn to not hack into military networks? What will fallout be? Only one way to find out.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Welcome to CH 10. Enjoy.**

* * *

Jaune let out an explosive sigh, staring angrily at the book he was reading.

When two day after White Fang attack Gepetto had walked into his room and announced that it was time for his lessons, the blond boy wasn't sure what to expect.

But when the old doctor pulled out textbooks for basic math, history, and other such subjects, Jaune could only stare in shock.

"I was informed that, understatedly, you didn't continue your education in the five years following your accident. If you are to become a successful member of society, we have a lot of catching up to do."

The first thing Gepetto did was give him a placement test, to figure out at what level Jaune was. The blond boy was fairly certain he aced it, and Gepetto's expression when he was checking it out all but confirmed it. But instead of grading it, the old doctor just put it aside, handed Jaune another, similar sheet, and smiled.

"Try again. This time without Penny's help."

The second test never happened, and that was version Jaune was sticking with.

The end result was that he was now stuck in his room, reading a history textbook, and bored out of his mind. Seriously, what was the harm in having Penny put all this knowledge directly into his brain? She could do it, and without much of a problem. But no, Gepetto clearly stated that he needed to learn it the old fashioned way.

His reasoning was that Jaune couldn't depend on Penny for everything. And studying from books, besides learning history, would let him practice his reading skills - something that he didn't get a chance to develop thanks to his condition.

'Two birds with one stone,' Gepetto had said.

'Waste of time', Jaune countered.

The blond boy sighed again, finally closing the damned book. He wasn't going to learn anything more today. And besides, it was almost time for his test. Surprisingly, the suspension of the ARES project didn't leave him with more free time - quite the opposite. Beside studying, he was going through multiple examinations and tests every day. Gepetto said it was to gather more data, but never said for what.

Jaune allowed himself to hope that it was for something related to ARES. Afterall, his father didn't ground him for life, which was very promising. Now, the only thing left to do was to not do anything stupid, and maybe he would be able to go back to doing cool stuff soon.

* * *

_P:A v2.5 logs, entry nbr. 1_

_Following White Fang attack, I decided to suspend practical tests of Project Ares until the commotion quites down. For the time being I'll focus on further investigating the Semblance of patient J. A., from now on referred to as Operator, as well as his connection with subject 'Simple Soul'._

_Data obtained during the recent attack seems to deny several assumptions I made regarding ARES' functionality, and its interaction with Operator. Most worrying is the overheating of the Operator's body when the suit performs at a higher capacity. However, the rate at which it overheats seems to be inconsistent. During tests it was a gradual process and it took between twenty to twenty-two minutes before the heat level started approaching dangerous levels. During the White Fang incident, the suit's temperature remained mostly stable for most of its duration, even when Operator engaged in direct combat, only reaching dangerous levels in the final moments of the confrontation against Jackal. All methods of regulating heat used so far have not been very effective._

_Theory - overheating is caused not by suit functions, but by the continuous drain of Operator's Aura. Might be tied to the implant that Operator received. Needs further testing._

Gepetto took a sip from his mug, staring at the screen of his computer. After a few moments, he began typing again.

_Development of project 'Simple Soul' is progressing at a much faster rate than expected. Subject shows much more self-awareness and personality than was anticipated, almost certainly thanks to the influence of the Operator. The synchronization allows subject SS to safely obtain data that otherwise would be only gained by direct exposure. Operator willingness, and even eagerness, to assist is very promising._

_At the current rate, Simple Soul probably can be moved to stage two within a few weeks._

_Possible risk - connection with Operator might influence Simple Soul too strongly. While data obtained is transferred to subject SS directly, it is still tainted by the Operator 's own perception. _

_Furthermore, both Simple Soul and Operator show great dependance on each other, which only grows the stronger their connection becomes. While this improves their teamwork significantly, it is possible they could achieve better results if they worked more independently. _

_But for now, it would be best to let them do as they wish, and focus on other, more pressing matters. _

* * *

Jaune winced when hot liquid splattered on his hand. It wasn't enough to seriously burn him, but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"Hot." he said loudly.

Another portion of steaming, blue-ish liquid washed over his hand. This one was just slightly cooler. He sighed. Being repeatedly almost-burned wasn't a pleasant exercise, but a necessary one.

Not for him, but for Penny.

When two days after White Fang attacked, Gepetto called him to his office, and announced Penny was ready to move to the next stage of development, Jaune needed a few moments to realize what the old doctor meant. But when he did, he couldn't contain his excitement.

Penny was going to get her own body.

This was huge. It meant she would no longer be confined to this single room. It meant she would no longer be so defenseless. It meant she will be able to experience things on her own, not only by borrowing Jaunes senses.

Speaking of which - after White Fang incident they reached 95% synchronization. To Jaune's disappointment, nothing big happened. He still couldn't touch Penny in The Room, and he still needed to speak aloud to talk with her. The most notable change was that Penny looked less like a vaguely humanoid blob of light, and more like a silhouette of a human.

But there was one big change. Penny could now really _feel_ things. Up until now, she could experience different sensations only by scanning Jaune's brain and 'guessing' what he felt. She knew the difference between 'cold' and 'warm' or 'hot' - she just didn't _understand_ it.

As was the case with many, many other things.

Penny knew a lot. One could even say she knew _everything _\- what with her ability to find just about any information on Remnant almost instantly.

She just didn't understand a lot of things, especially things that required a physical body to experience. So, good friend that he was, Jaune took it upon himself to help the virtual girl with it. Since yesterday, he was constantly 'teaching' Penny what different things felt like by letting her read his brain waves. Unfortunately, to do so meant he had to experience it himself.

He never knew how many different types of pain one could experience - and that was definitely knowledge he could have lived without.

Jaune let out a surprised yelp when something sharp hit his arm. The nurse who just stabbed him with a small needle sent him an apologetic look. The blond just sighed, massaging his arm, and yet again reassured Penny he was fine. When the nurse brought out another, much bigger needle, his resolve wavered a little, but he still extended his hand.

Anything for a friend, right?

* * *

_P:A v2.5 logs, entry 5._

_Operator's continued interaction with subject Simple Soul continues to bring positive results. She's developing quickly, her understanding of information is essential for future development of projects greatly increased. I estimate that, thanks to Operator's efforts we are easily four, five months ahead in this department. Construction of hardware for Simple Soul to operate is going well. Data obtained from P.A. was most helpful, and allowed me to remove several flaws in the initial design. _

_Speaking of which, the more I analyze data obtained from the White Fang incident, the more questions I have. Several assumptions I made appear to be wrong, but more tests are needed before any conclusions can be made. For now, I've put more sensors in the ARES suit, when we restart the practical tests it should give me more accurate data._

_The most important factor is Aura consumption. My initial assumption was that operating the suit meant a continuous, steady drain on the user's Aura, with possibility of it increasing depending on the amount of strength used, but it seems that is not the case. During the whole incident, there were only a few spikes in the Aura drain. Furthermore, it seems that they were not related to how intensely the suit was used. _

_That's why I decided to postpone moving project Simple Soul to the next phase. I can't afford to take any risks here._

_If I mess something up, I'm afraid I won't get a second chance._

"Sir, it's time."

Gepetto looked up at the young man in the uniform of the Council guard, standing at attention in front of him. The old doctor nodded and got up, quickly fixing his suit, before following the soldier through the halls of the Atlas Senate building. The walk from the waiting room to the room where the hearing would take place was unnecessarily long, and not for the first time Gepetto wondered if it was done on purpose. Calling a person almost an hour before it started, then a long walk through grey, cold halls, accompanied by a guard who spoke as little as possible.

It probably was to unnerve people.

A few years back, it might have worked on him, but not anymore.

Atlas - and the Council - needed him more than he needed them. He knew it, they knew it, most of Atlas citizens knew it too. Of course this didn't mean he could do as he pleased. If he acted on his own too much, the Council could, and would, take action.

He couldn't afford to antagonize them. Not now - when two of the most important projects of his life were so close to bearing fruit. If he wanted to develop them further, he needed the council on his side - or at least most of it.

Thankfully, there was a single man among them with whom Gepetto was on good terms. And he trusted him enough to let him on his little secret. As long as he could be convinced that keeping the rest of the council away from project ARES, and by extension, Penny, would benefit Atlas the most in the long run, General Ironwood was an ally the old doctor knew he could count on.

_Allright. Let's get this show on the road. _

"Doctor." One of the Council members greeted him as soon as Gepetto sat in the chair prepared for him.

"Councilors." He greeted with a nod.

"We thank you for your timely arrival, doctor." Said an older woman, fixing her glasses. "I propose we skip pointless formalites and get right to the main topic of this hearing." She looked around, and seeing no complaints focused back on Gepetto.

"First of all, just to confirm, this mysterious individual, who intervened in the White Fang attack on your clinic last week was not some unknown Huntsman, but one of your creations, correct?"

Gepetto nodded.

"Yes."

"I don't believe we heard you were working on a new model of Atlesian Knight. Unless General Ironwood forgot to inform us about this little detail?" Another council member spoke, a thin man with slicked back, short hair, and thin mustache.

"No, General Ironwood, nor anyone besides me and few associates knew about this project. Mostly because it is in a very early stage of development. In fact, the unit that we are talking about is the first prototype I built. I didn't even finished all the basic tests before the attack happened."

"Regardless, its performance was formidable. Disabling multiple armed opponents, and even holding its own against trained Hunter is a feat far above anything that our current Knight could achieve. Please, tell me Doctor, when can we expect this model to be ready for mass production?"

Gepetto sighed, not even bothering to look at the one who spoke.

"Like I said, it's too early to say anything. At this stage of development, this unit is not capable of replacing the current iteration of Atlesian Knights."

"But…"

"It's a completely new technology. "Gepetto continued, completely ignoring the man who just spoke." And I mean it. Everything, from materials used, to software operating it, all of it is completely new technology. There are still a lot of issues that need to be resolved before we can even think about mass producing this model. _If _it will ever be mass produced. The most glaring issue is production cost. For the price of one new unit we could have over a hundred regular Knights, or two Paladins. Not to mention that the production process would take much longer, considering the materials used are something that I developed only recently. Then there is the issue of upkeep. During the White Fang incident, this unit operated for less than twenty minutes, and it almost ran out of power."

"So, you are saying that you wasted time and taxpayers money on some worthless toy?"

Gepetto sighed.

"I _used time_, _my time_ and _my _money to make _progress. _To make something new, that can potentially help the whole of humanity. And achieving this, achieving _anything_ requires time, effort and a lot of hard work." he turned to an annoying man and smirked. "Not that I'd expect you to know anything about it, _councilor." _

The other man rose, his face red.

"How dare you! I'm…"

"Someone who got his seat by marrying into the right family, and generous support of several influential individuals." Gepetto said with a smile. The other man looked like he was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"You…! I..! How dare you?!" he roared, slamming his fist on the table. "I'll…"

"Enough."

One word, spoken calmly, was enough to stop any further discussion.

"Doctor, please remember you are in the presence of the Atlesian Council. I expect you to show at least minimal respect to every member, regardless of how much you think they might deserve it." James Ironwood spoke in a calm, measured tone.

Gepetto just nodded.

"And you." The General spoke again, turning to his fellow council members. "Could stand to act with more dignity. And refrain from speaking about topics you have no idea about."

"That would mean he would have to never speak again…" someone muttered, but was instantly silenced by Ironwood's stern glare.

"Now, back onto the main topic. I would like to know, what purpose did you have in mind when developing this new unit? Because I'm sure you wouldn't go with something so extravagant if you wanted to make a new model of Atlesian Knight?"

Gepetto hummed, considering his answer. He intended to get Ironwood on board, but how much could he reveal here?

"My initial thought was to develop a unit for emergency services. Something that could replace the human element when rescuing victims of natural disasters. Atlesian Knights, even after heavy modifications, are ill suited for such tasks. Which is understandable, since they were designed as easy to replace, cost effective units. For the tasks that I had in mind, a unit with much higher specs was needed."

Ironwood nodded.

"So, how is the development of this new unit going? When can we expect the first functional model?"

"It's hard to tell. Like I mentioned, everything I'm working with is new technology. I constantly find new properties, and possible improvements that need to be tested. It could be months, even years before a fully functional unit is made." Gepetto paused, looking over the Council. They were chatting among themselves, no doubt each considering how they could use what they learned for their own benefit.

The old scientist winced.

Bunch of greedy scavengers. Unfortnatelly, they weren't stupid. At least some of them. They probably realized that Gepetto wasn't telling them everything. And now that they'd gotten wind of it, they'd start sniffing.

Gepetto wouldn't let that happen. And that meant it was time to throw in some bait.

"However, I was able to implement parts of this technology into other fields. Currently I'm testing new models of prosthesis, and the results are extremely promising. I have already begun developing specialized implants, that should allow even completely paralized people to return to normal lives. Not only that, the White Fang incident proved that the materials I used are even more resilient than I anticipated. With some modifications, it should be possible to create body armor for our soldiers that would offer much better protection than anything we currently have. I have a few early designs ready, and if possible I would like to discuss them in private, General."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow. It was rare for Gepetto to suggest a private meeting.

"Very well, we can meet in my office after the hearing. For now, does anyone have any questions for the Doctor?"

They had questions. A lot of them. The hearing continued for nearly two hours, before Gepetto finally was released.

* * *

"So, what is the deal with this new robot of yours?" Asked Ironwood, when he and Gepetto finally sat together in his office. The General barely looked over files the old scientist uploaded from his scroll.

"Just so we're clear - those armor designs are the real thing. You should really check them out, they are pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. Extremely resilient to stabbing and blunt force. Less so against cutting, but this can be easily resolved. I called it High Impact Dist…"

"Gepetto."

"Yes?"

"Robot. Details. Now."

A few seconds passed in silence.

"But seriously, check those out? I put a lot of work into this."

Ironwood sighed, and opened the first file, taking a sip of coffee. However, as time passed, his annoyance diminished, replaced by curiosity. It looked like these designs were indeed real. There were even some recordings of live tests. And if the specifications proved real, they indeed were leagues above anything Atlas had at the moment.

_Interesting. _

This meant only one thing. Gepetto wanted something legitimate for the Council to focus on. Which in turn meant that there was something else that old scientists wanted to keep the Council _away_ from. General Ironwood had a pretty good idea what that might be. He was one of very few people who knew the true identity of Gepetto's 'special' patient.

_Is it time for her to move out of her room? I thought it was still months away._

"It's indeed very interesting. But as I look over them, you could start explaining what is the deal with this robot of yours."

A few seconds passed in silence.

"Do I have your word that nothing we speak of now will leave this room?"

James paused, looking at his companion. Gepetto started at him intently, his face so tense it might have been carved from stone.

It was rare for the old scientist to be so serious about something. Even rarer for him to ask Ironwood to keep secrets. In fact, it had happened only once before.

After a moment of hesitation, Ironwood slowly nodded.

"As long as keeping it secret will not put people of Remnant at risk, then yes."

Gepetto held his gaze for a second longer, then relaxed.

"It's ARES." he said simply.

Ironwood froze.

ARES. He remembered it so well. Geppetto's first big project - and biggest failure. Something he himself admitted was probably impossible to do. Yet now he claimed he made it work?

"How?"

Doctor Polendina scratched his cheek.

"The thing is, I'm not entirely sure. Believe it or not, its activation was an accident. I'm still trying to figure out the specifics. And this attack? It provided some interesting data - that suggests I was almost completely wrong about how it actually works."

"Wait, you said you yourself don't know how this thing works?"

"Yes."

"But you made it! From scratch."

"And your point is…?"

Both men stared at each other for a few moments. Finally, Ironwood sighed with annoyance, and shook his head.

"Never mind. Just tell me, is it somehow related to your daughter?"

Gepetto considered it for a few moments.

"It is now. I didn't intend it at first, but due to certain events, she is now developing much faster than I anticipated. I also intend to use the same technology in creating her body."

Ironwood nodded, leaned back in his chair.

"So, I assume you want my help with keeping the rest of the Council away from it?"

"Yes. At least for a few months, until it's closer to completion."

"I'll see what I can do. One more thing. How many people know?"

"With you? Five in total."

Ironwood raised an eyebrow at that. Only five people? Excluding himself,and obviously Gepetto that left only three potential pilots.

"So, who are the pilots? Anyone I know?"

"I use the term Operator. And yes, you know him. Kind of. I don't think you two have ever met, but you work with his father."

That didn't really narrowed it down much. Ironwood worked with a lot of men. Also, Operator, as in singular?

"Wait, you have only one pilot? Why not look for more?"

Gepetto let out an annoyed sigh.

"Because there are no other people who could do it. Like I said, my decision to restart ARES was the result of an accident. The current Operator was able to activate and operate a piece of equipment that we used in the original project, and I'm still not one hundred percent sure of how he managed it. Besides, now that Penny is involved, I want to keep as few people involved as I can."

"Allright, I get it. I think. Anyway, we could make it a military project, at least officially. You would have to follow certain procedures, but you would still have full control of the project. It would make keeping the rest of the Council away from it easier too."

Gepetto shook his head.

"I don't think that will be possible. As much as I trust you, I'd prefer not to get the government involved in any way, not until I'm ready. If we make it an official military project, every council member will want someone loyal to them on it."

"If we make it a military project I could block such attempts. Or at the very least put someone trustworthy as an observer."

"Maybe. But the biggest problem is with Operator. Making him part of the military might cause some… legal issues."

"What kind of legal issues?"

"Well, for one, he is not a citizen of Atlas."

Ironwood hummed. That was not a problem. Anyone could apply for a job in the Atlesian military. While becoming an officer in most cases required Atlas citizenship, there were many career opportunities for foreigners.

And Gepetto knew this.

"And?"

"He may be a little underaged."

Ironwood eyes narrowed. That didn't sound good.

"How much is 'a little'? Weeks? Months?"

Gepetto sighed.

"Years."

Ironwood groaned. Great, just great.

"Please, tell me that his parents know about it."

"Well, his father does. We came to certain… agreement on the subject. He knows all about ARES, so don't worry. I didn't kidnap anyone."

Ironwood breathed a sigh of relief. That was good. Well, better.

"Very well. With those files you gave me, I should be able to buy you a few months of peace. But what then? Do you intend to keep ARES a secret forever?"

"Not really. When I figure out how exactly it's working, I'll try to make a model that anyone can use. Even if this fails, I should be able to obtain a lot of valuable data that could be implemented elsewhere. I already have a few ideas on how to upgrade our automated targeting systems. But most importantly - I don't want the Council sniffing around ARES until Penny has her body. I'm close, but I need to figure a few things out before I can proceed."

"I see. Well, as much as I would love to talk more, I'm afraid I have work to do. See you later, doctor." Ironwood stood extending his hand. His guest did the same, and both men shared a short, firm handshake. "Gepetto?" The old man turned back to General. "Say hello to your daughter from me. And good luck."

Gepetto smiled, nodded and left, leaving Ironwood alone with his thoughts - and work.

* * *

_**P:A v2.5 logs, entry 6.**_

_As expected, with time interest died down. The media still covers the attack, but they rarely speak about the ARES test unit. The Project's Overseer agreed to resume practical tests. Both Operator and Subject Simple Soul are very excited. We begin next Monday._

_I'll still need to make some modifications to the test unit. After some consideration, I decided against creating a new unit. I'll probably need to make a new one, if any of my theories are true, but before that I can use the current model to gather some more data._

_Meanwhile, I continued the examination of Operator's Semblance. It's indeed a very interesting case. Initially, I thought it was capable of transferring only emotional states between two or more individuals, however, this seems to be not the case. It also allows for shared physical sensations - and, presumably, other senses too. This aspect was immensely helpful in advancing the development of Simple Soul._

_I was also able to confirm that there are two distinct 'stages' to his Semblance. The lowest stage allows him to 'scan' for people, by detecting their emotions. The range seems to be around twenty meters, and he doesn't have to see a person to detect them. However, he gets only a very vague idea of what the emotional state of said person is. He can't tell the difference between someone who is furious, or just mildly annoyed. He can vaguely guess the direction said person is, but not the distance, and the more people he is surrounded by, the harder it is for him to focus on a single one._

_What's interesting, is that people who he is 'scanning' are not aware of the fact._

_The Second stage is the actual link. It allows for much greater precision in both locating people, and identifying their emotional state. He can tell how intense emotion is, but not the source of said emotion. The quality of the link seems to diminish with every linked person, but not distance. Most volunteers were left unaware of the link until they mentioned exactly what happened, some reported feeling uncomfortable, or nervous during the experiment, but they assumed it was just stress. After being informed of the true nature of a test, most of them said that being linked to felt as if they were being watched. Curiously, the Operator could not hold an active link with more than three people, even though previously he was able to do so with his whole family. He was also unable to share his senses, as he did with his mother on our first meeting, nor physical sensations as he does with Subject Simple Soul._

_More tests are needed to determine the cause._

* * *

_"Father, what is Transference?"_

Gepetto stared at a message that popped up on his private terminal for a few seconds, before sighing and massaging his temples.

"Where did you learn about it?"

_"I found mentions about it in files related to Project ARES, as well as some of your early works about Aura Resonance."_

"And why were you browsing those files?"

_"Since I serve as Jaune's assistant, I thought it important to know as much about Project as possible."_

So, Penny was doing self study? Gepetto smiled. He never instructed Penny to look for any information regarding ARES on her own. That she did so was yet another proof that she had a mind, and will, on her own.

That she was more than just a program.

Not that he needed any proof, but there might come a time when he will have to convince others that Penny is indeed a real person.

"It's just a theory, something an acquaintance from university pointed out. He was studying different legends and stories from ancient civilizations, looking for connections. When he learned about my research on Auar Resonance, he pointed out that almost every civilization that ever existed on Remnant has legends about inanimate objects gaining sentience. Usually it referred to weapons that supposedly held the souls of their owners, but sometimes they were simple items of everyday use, that became alive after being used for a long time. He suggested that those stories might have a grain of truth in them - that through Aura Resonance, it is possible to transfer a person 's soul into an inanimate object."

"_So, is it possible?"_

"It's hard to tell. Back then I didn't give it much thought. Even if it would be possible, I had no idea how we could test it. Even assuming we would find volunteers to attempt such a process, I'm not sure how we could confirm if it was successful or not. Not to mention the fact that it's hard to predict what such a process would do to them. Best case scenario, it would be the same as exhausting one's Aura through combat or continuous use of Semblance. Worst case scenario, said person very soul would leave their body, and be stuck in whatever object was used for the test. And that, most probably, would mean death."

"_Is that the reason why you put a limit on Aura transfer in ARES suits?"_

Gepetto hummed.

"Yes, that was one reason. Even if such a process would be possible, I believe that the worst that could happen would be complete Aura exhaustion. But better safe than sorry. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to Jaune, right?"

"_Of course not! Is this also the reason why you stopped Jaune's fight against Jackal? The readings from after I removed the limiters are very… unusual."_

"Partially. The main reason was because you two were fighting against a very dangerous, and experienced warrior, using equipment that was not designed for it."

"_Last question, Father. Shouldn't we inform Jaune of this possibility?"_

"No, there is no need for that. Like I said, it's very unlikely that Transference can happen. Let's not worry Jaune for no reason."

"_Understood, Father. I'll leave you to your work."_

Gepetto smiled and stretched. Talking with Penny was a nice distraction, but she is right. He had a lot of work to do. All this data wouldn't analyze itself.

* * *

_**P:A v2.5 logs, entry 9.**_

_After numerous tests, I was still unable to determine the exact reason why the Link with subject Simple Soul is more efficient than with other people. _

_I did learn a few things however. Operator does not need to see a person to form the link, even if they are in separate rooms. No material that I could think of was capable of blocking the Link - it seems like the only way for it to break is for the linked person to move more than twenty meters away from Operator, or for enough time to pass. How long Operator can hold a Link differs from person to person, and I'm still unable to determine the cause._

_When linked, Operator can tell in which direction the person he is linked to is with much greater accuracy than when scanning, he can also vaguely tell distance. He is however, unable to tell if a person is on the same elevation as him. _

_Another strange thing is Aura consumption. Unlinke Scanning, that slowly consumes his Aura when he actively focuses on it, Link seems to drain a large portion of Aura upon activation. What's even more interesting, is that part of his Aura seems to be returned when the Link is broken. I have no idea why this might be happening._

_Anyway, tomorrow we restart the practical test of project ARES. I'll continue analyzing Operator's Semblance. I'm certain that understanding it is key to figuring out how to optimize ARES suits._

* * *

_**P:A v2.5 logs, entry 10.**_

_Unlike I initially assumed, operating ARES suits does not cause constant drain of Operator's Aura. Instead, it appears that the suit absorbs part of the users Aura at the moment of activation, and continues to operate on it until more is needed. Follow up drains happen regularly, but the data I gathered suggest frequency depends more on number and complexity of actions performed, rather than their intensity. Ten minutes of testing reflexes and precision of the suit's movements proved more taxing than an hour of running. It would suggest that intense focus, or making multiple tiny movements, require more Aura. I'll continue the test, but installing more precise scanners might be necessary._

_No progress was made regarding the Operator's Semblance. It seems I'll just have to accept that this is how it works, and there is no special reason behind it._

* * *

Gepetto walked through the halls of his clinic, eyes distant. He barely noticed the patients and personnel he was passing by, not even answering when addressed directly. It wasn't that he was ignoring them - his mind was simply occupied, trying to figure out the answer to, quite possibly, the hardest problem he'd ever been posed with. It was the third day, and he still wasn't any closer to finding an answer than he was at the beginning.

And it all started with a simple question, asked by his daughter on Monday.

_"Father, what should I look like?"_

And wasn't that a million lien question? In hindsight, he probably should have thought about it earlier, but in his defense, he was doing his best to keep her hidden from ignorant people who wanted her dead just because she might pose a threat.

Gepetto walked into his office and dropped onto his chair. What should he do? He thought he prepared himself for any questions Penny might have for him, but this caught him completely off guard.

In his defense, he doubted any parent ever had to design their children's looks from the beginning. And now that he thought about it, he also needed to decide how… anatomically accurate Penny body would be.

Gepetto let out a long, tired sigh. Why was parenting so hard?

But back to the task at hand. It was the first time Penny asked for something, and with such determination.

That's why it pained him that he couldn't help. He simply had no idea what Penny should look like. His eyes trailed to his private computer. There was a solution to this problem, right there, but he refused to use it. He couldn't cheat like that when it came to his daughter.

* * *

Gepetto stretched, a satisfied smile on his lips. He loved those moments, when after agonizing over some hard problem, he finally reached a solution. And all it took was to change the way he approached the problem.

As tempting as it was to help Penny with every little problem she encountered, it was not the correct way. He needed to let her make her own decisions, give her a chance to express herself. Sure, he would keep watch over her, and offer advice, or assistance when needed, but at the same time he would let her make her own choices. And, as a responsible and supportive parent that he was, he would accept them, as long as they will be made after careful consideration.

That's why, instead of designing Penny's look himself, he provided his daughter with several programs that would allow her to do it herself.

It had nothing to do with the fact that it was already Friday evening, and he was no closer to finishing said task than he was at the beginning of the week.

Definitely.

On another note, he was finally making some progress on analyzing Jaune's Semblance. Nothing concentrate yet, but at least he had some leads.

Gepetto hummed, stepping into the elevator leading to his secret lab. He still had some modifications to make on the ARES suit before the next test. By now, it was basically one moving scanner, whose main purpose was to detect any, even the weakest, change in flow of Jaune's Aura. The said effect for all those modifications was that the suit was now really ugly. Jaune complained about it a bit - and the fact it was less responsive - but calmed down when Gepetto explained it was just a temporary arrangement. As soon as enough data was collected, he would begin construction of ARES mk 3.

And that time was coming closer and closer. Only one, maybe two tests, just to, hopefully, confirm the latest theory.

He stepped into his workshop. It was a small room, most of it filled with tables covered in various tools and electronic devices. In the center was a small platform, atop which stood partially dismantled ARES suit. He smiled fondly, patting the sleeping machine.

_You did well. Just a bit longer, and you will be able to rest._

Gepeto turned towards one of the desks, and picked a small, circular object. Just a few finishing touches, and the suit would be ready for tomorrow's tests.

* * *

_**P:A v2.5 logs, entry 11.**_

_It was surprising, but I guess it worked out, so it's all good. My theory about Aura drain being tied to the mental state of Operator proved to be wrong. Not entirely, but the impact is very low, in most cases not noticeable._

_I, however, was able to finally figure out how it works. Upon activation, Operator forms an Aura connection with suit, very similar in nature to the one formed by his Semblance. When formed, it drains part of Operator's Aura, and acts as a sort of buffer, used to manipulate suit. When any activity is performed, more 'links' are formed with the parts of the suit that are used the most - usually limbs. The more precise the task Operator is performing, the more links are formed, presumably to increase control. Since most of the drain happens at the moment of forming a link, tasks that require Operator to often shift his 'focus', like combat, drain Aura at an exponentially high rate. Some of this can be mitigated by simple experience and finer control, but I have few solutions in mind that should help with this issue._

_While I'm happy that I finally found the reason behind this issue, I'm also worried. If Operator can manipulate the suit only thanks to his Semblance, it might prove impossible to create a model that can be operated by anyone. However, even though the process of Linking bears very close resemblance, it might be something different. After contacting the Operator's family, they provided some more insight about their experience when 'Linking'. What caught my attention was that neither of them could directly share physical sensations, like Operator and Simple Soul can. This led me to believe that this might be the result of their… unique connection, rather than Operator's Semblance. Since he can 'feel' suit in a similar way, it might be the result of Aura fibers used in its construction being very similar to the one used in the implant Operator received. More tests are needed._

* * *

"What?! B-but we are so close!" Jaune screamed, eyes wide.

Gepetto sighed. He kinda expected a reaction like that.

"I know." he said loudly. "But have you ever considered what will happen when you and Penny synchronized completely?"

"Of course I did! We will…"

"Did you also consider what could go wrong?"

Jaune clicked his mouth shut. He never really considered it. In fact, he never considered that something _could_ go wrong. When he said it out loud, the old doctor just sighed.

"Jaune, you are playing with an unknown technology. The kind of connection you and Penny have… it's my first time. There is no, and there never _was,_ a case like you and Penny. Right now you, quite literally, have two souls in you. There are a _lot _of things that can go wrong. The most obvious one is that once synchronization will be complete, then there will be no more distinction between your souls. They merge and one, or both, of you will cease to exist."

Jaune just sat there, mouth agape. He'd never considered such a possibility.

Why had he never considered such a possibility!?

It was so logical, he should have thought about it earlier!

"And that's not all. You and Penny are connected in a way that no other two beings ever have been. For a few months now you've shared every thought, and, if what you said is true, every sensation. That means that everything she experienced is tainted by your own perception - whatever you like it or not."

"It is true that every person is being influenced by those around them. The closer we are, the stronger influence we have on other people. We tend to like things our friends and family like, and dislike things they dislike. Your connection with Penny is closest any two human beings ever had, so it's safe to assume your influence on her is the strongest too. She literally feels things _exactly_ as you do."

Jaune deflated. Was he… was he hurting Penny without even knowing it?

A hand landed on his shoulder, and Jaune looked up to see Gepetto standing above him, with a gentle smile.

"I'm not saying you are hurting Penny. You know I would never let that happen, and I know you would never do it knowingly. I'm just making you aware of the possibility that things might not go how we want them. Life has ways to screw us over in the most unexpected ways."

Jaune chuckled.

"Yeah. I kinda figured that out."

Gepetto sighed. Yes, he had. Being paralized for five years seemed like a good way to learn that life is not always fair.

"Anyway, there are other reasons I want you to sever your Link with Penny. I have reason to suspect that keeping it on all the time actually hurts both of your potential."

Jaune perked up.

"Really? How? I mean, thanks to the Link we can do so many things! I can pilot ARES effectively only because she's helping me! And yes, we tested it, near the beginning - if Penny stops assisting me, even though I'm not sure _what _she is doing, it's hard to pilot that thing. I feel like I'm going on a trip at any moment."

Gepetto raised an eyebrow.

"Really? And why didn't you mention it?"

Jaune paused. That… was a very good question. Too bad he didn't have an answer.

"I… never thought about it? Since Penny and I do everything together, I just assumed… that… oh."

Gepetto rolled his eyes. Jaune scratched back of his head, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. It looked like there might be some merit to Gepetto's words.

"So.. in what way is our Link limiting us?" he asked out loud.

"For one, it limits Penny's calculation, and, let's call it perception, capabilities. The best example would be your encounter with Jackal. He was able to sneak up on you because Penny was too busy with other things to keep an eye on all the cameras. She only kept track of his scroll - and he left it in the security room. As long as you are connected, as long as you share every thought, Penny cannot unleash her full potential, simply because your brain, implant, or both, wouldn't be able to handle so much data flowing through them. That's why she has to limit herself to what you can handle. But she herself has no squishy, delicate brian that can be damaged if overloaded. For you, well, I'm not entirely sure yet, but I have reason to believe it limits what you can do with your Semblance. If my theory is right, there is a limit to how much information can be shared through the Link at any given time. You having such a strong connection with Penny leaves very little to be used elsewhere."

Jaune sighed. It wasn't that he didn't consider limiting the time they were Linked. And it wasn't like they were always connected - connection always broke when he the clinic to hang out with his father.

But the fact remained that they always reconnected as soon as Jaune was close enough to form a Link.

Then again, could anyone really blame him? The excitement he felt from her everytime they interacted, her poor attempts at hiding her disappointment every time he went out with his father, and overwhelming joy when they finally reconnected. And above all else - awareness of just how terribly lonely Penny was before they met.

Jaune knew how it felt. To be stuck in a single room, unable to leave, unable to move, unable to interact with anyone. He at least had his family visiting him regularly, and later his Link.

Penny had only Gepetto, and he had to limit their interactions in fear she would be discovered, and killed.

Knowing all of that, how could he possibly deny his friend the simple pleasure of company? Especially when he yearned for it too. Afterall, it wasn't like Penny was only one in need of a friend. It was her that helped him with his rehabilitation. It was her who cheered him up when he was feeling down. It was her that kept helping him, only asking for that one thing in return - for him to be her friend. To not leave her alone.

How could he possibly deny her that?

He couldn't.

But then again, if Gepetto was right, if their continuous connection hurt both of their progress. If it really put Penny's very existence at risk… Then there was only one choice to be made.

"Penny? Is it possible? That you will disappear if we continue being Linked all the time?"

Gepetto watched the blond boy's face with interest. He couldn't hear his daughter answered, but judging by the way Jaune tensed, his eyes clenched shut, he assumed Penny confirmed that this is indeed a possibility. So when the blond boy opened his eyes, now filled with determination, and a fair bit of fear, Gepetto knew what he would say. Afterall, he wasn't sure if he even cared about Penny more than Jaune Arc.

"I-I understand, doctor. I'll break the Link. But can we wait with it until tomorrow? Penny wanted to show me something tonight, apparently something special."

Gepetto nodded.

"Of course. One, or two days more will not change anything. But don't delay too much. And just so we're clear - I'm not saying you two shouldn't connect ever again, just to cut down on it."

Jaune nodded, looking slightly less distressed, slightly.

Gepetto sighed.

"Look at it that way. If you two are connected all the time, you experience the same things. Sure, it's fun to do things with your friend, but doing two different things, and then sharing your experiences? That can be fun too. Isn't it like that everytime you go out with your father, and then can share things you saw or did with Penny?"

Jaune perked up. Gepetto was right. He would miss Penny's presence, there was no doubt about it, but maybe this idea had some merit to it.

"Thanks doctor." he said getting up. "I'll see you later."

Gepetto just nodded, watching Jaune walk out of his office. His steps were still uncertain, and sometimes he stumbled a little, but it was a far cry from what it used to be.

_Just a few months, and he already recovered that much? It's far better than I expected._

Sure, he still was getting tired very fast, had problems with his left arm, and couldn't really run, but considering his state when he was brought to the clinic - it was a miracle he'd reached this level.

* * *

Jaune opened his eyes, looking around The Room. Surprisingly, it was the actual room this time. He sat in a wooden chair at a wooden table. The walls, what little he could see between paintings and furs of some wild animals, appeared to be made out of wooden logs.

Jaune looked around, humming. Something felt different than usual. The scene looked more detailed. If he looked close enough, he could see the individual hairs of the wolf pelts that hung nearby. He got up and walked over to one of the paintings. It depicted some hunting scenes, as did most of the others that hung around the room. Jaune hummed and looked around the room again, walking to one of the two windows he could see. It was dark outside, but he could make out the dark shapes of trees, covered in snow. The moon was full, and gave enough light to make out a few details. Wooden cabins sat in the middle of a small clearing. He could see one more building not far away, probably some barn. Everything was covered in a thick layer of snow, and more was falling from the sky.

Jaune smiled. It looked nice, but he probably would not be taking a walk outside. Two plush chairs near the fireplace looked much more inviting, as did two cups of some streaming, dark liquid that sat on the table. No doubt meant to be shared by him and Penny - but his friend was nowhere to be seen.

_I wonder what the surprise she mentioned is about._

Penny had been very excited the whole day. It was tempered after a conversation with Gepetto, but she still insisted they will visit The Room one more time before they severed the Link. Apparently, she wanted to show him something special.

This cabin looked nice, sure, but it wasn't much better than the things Penny had already done. Jaune hummed, placing his hand against the window. He could feel the smooth, cold surface.

And then it struck him.

He could feel it. The cold. The texture of glass. The heat coming from the fireplace. It was all so natural, so livid, unlike anything he had ever experienced in The Room.

"So, how is it? I'm almost certain I got everything right, but…"

Jaune smiled and turned to Penny.

"It's perfect."

She brightened - literally. By now he knew this was the equivalent of her smiling.

"Sensational!"

"Is this what you wanted to show me?"

Penny took two steps towards him.

"Partially, Friend Jaune." She looked uncertain for a moment, but then gathered her resolve and looked him in the eye - or at least he assumed that was what she did. For some reason she looked more… blurry now."Do you know what day is today, Friend Jaune?"

The blond boy rubbed the back of his head. Penny sounded serious, very much so. Whatever this was about it had to be something important. He tried to think of any event that could make Penny so serious, but come up empty.

"Today passes six month since we first made contact. Six month, since, for the first time in my life, I was able to feel something. To interact with other people." She smiled at him, and took another step forward. "Since someone, beside my father, called me a person." She took a few more steps and paused, just outside of Jaune's reach.

"I don't think I ever properly thanked you. You did so much for me, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you."

Jaune made to speak, to say she did as much, if not more, for him, but she just raised her hand, silencing him.

"I know it's not how friendship works. That friends support each other just because they want to. That's why I prepared something special for today. Something that we've both wanted for some time."

Jaune again made to speak, but yet again Penny stopped him. She covered the remaining distance in slow, measured steps, pausing just a moment to smile at him.

And then she hugged him.

Jaune froze, for a few seconds unable to think. He could feel her. Really feel.

It wasn't the same sensation as when he hugged his family. Penny felt incredibly soft, fragile even, but at the same time there was a certain firmness to her. It brought to mind hugging an extremely soft pillow, but she also radiated warmth, unlike anything Jaune ever felt.

Slowly, carefully, he wrapped his arms around her. Unlike all other times when they tried to make physical contact, this time his hand did not pass through her.

Jaune let out a quiet chuckle. It felt… nice. Comforting.

He had no idea how long they just stood there, enjoying each other's company. Jaune wouldn't mind if it lasted forever. But eventually Penny pulled back, the blond letting out a startled gasp when he looked at her. She was nearly transparent, he could barely see her. But before he could ask anything, she squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Friend Jaune. I'm not disappearing, I'm merely… updating my model."

Jaune blinked.

"What?"

Penny chuckled.

"I initially wanted to save this one for your birthday, but with what Father said, we might not get another chance for some time, so…" She shrugged. "Give me ten minutes, and go upstairs. I'll be waiting there."

With that, Penny faded away. Jaune focused on their connection, and breathed a sigh of relief when he realized he could still feel her. Left with nothing to do, he sat in one of the chairs near the fireplace, staring at the flames and thinking. Now that she mentioned it, Jaune realized it really had been half a year since he and Penny first met. His birthday is coming up in two months, which meant it was almost six years since his accident. Six years since his dreams of being a Hero died.

And slightly more than half a year since he stepped on a path towards recovery. He traveled all the way to Atlas, received his implants, made friends with Penny, and joined project ARES.

The blond boy smiled.

_A lot has happened._

His pondering was interrupted by a wave of excitement from Penny.

_I guess she is ready._

Jaune got up and walked up the stairs. There was a short corridor there, and a single door. Without hesitation, the blond boy entered the room - and yet again froze.

There, in the middle of the room, on the sizable bed, sat Penny. She was looking in the large mirror, but got up and turned to him fully as soon as he entered.

Reason why he froze was because she was no longer a silhouette made of greenish light.

She looked like a normal person. Green eyes looked straight into his. Oval, cute face, with few freckles. Orange, shoulder-length hair, curled at the ends. She was shorter than him from what he could say, and was currently looking at him with a shy smile.

She was also very, _very_ naked.

"Welcome, Friend Jaune! As you can see, I began working on a design for my physical body. But I still need to iron out some details, and was hoping you could help me out."

Jaune just nodded dumbly.

Penny smiled brightly

"Sensational! Now, first things first." Her hands went up to her chest.

"How big do you think they should be?"

* * *

**Poor Jaune, being forced to make such important decisions. Anyway, that wraps it up. Not much action in this chapter, just some insight on how Jaune's Semblance works, and Gepetto dealing with politics.**

**Also - there is new cover art, made by mysterywhiteflame. Go check out their profile on Deviant Art.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Welcome to Ch 11. Enjoy**

* * *

Jaune stared blankly at the book that laid open before him. He should be reading it, he knew that, but right now it was impossible. Just staying awake required a tremendous amount of focus.

But could anyone blame him? Last week was hell. Ever since he severed the Link with Penny, Gepetto went all out with both ARES and testing his Semblance, all on top of his catch up lessons. As a result, Jaune was retiring to his room exhausted, both mentally and physically.

But even sleep didn't give him respite. Every day, or rather night, just before retiring to his bed, he would reconnect with Penny in The Room. They would talk a bit, and then examinations would begin. He had no idea why it was needed, but Penny insisted, and every time he tried to question it, she would get all teary-eyed, and mumbled something about him not having to do it if it disgusted him.

It was a simple guilt trip - they both knew it, but it made it no less effective.

It wasn't that those examinations were particularly hard, or even long. Usually they lasted only a few minutes, and all he had to do was give his opinion on how Penny looked. The real problem were dreams he had after that. They were… detailed.

So very detailed.

He felt like the worst kind of scum for having dreams like that about his best friend.

But again, could anyone blame him? He was a healthy young boy, and every night he got to see Penny in various states of undress. At least he'd convinced her to wear underwear. That helped him focus on the task at hand, but it still wasn't easy. Especially when she demanded he will check if a particular part of her body 'felt' right.

It shouldn't have mattered, since she wasn't real, but it definitely _felt_ real. A few images flashed through his mind. He still could remember the sensation of touching her body. Her warm, soft…

_Stop. Bad thoughts._

"Jaune?"

It took him a few seconds to realize he was being spoken to. The blond boy raised his head to see Gepetto looking at him intently.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if everything is alright. You seem to be spacing out a lot lately."

Jaune shook his head, trying to stifle a yawn.

"I guess I'm just tired."

Gepetto watched him for a moment, then nodded.

"Well, we did have a busy week." he checked his scroll and hummed. "Allright, let's cut today's lesson short. In that state you won't learn anything anyway."

Jaune nodded gratefully and left Gepetto's office. He let out a tired sigh, and this time didnt try to stop the yawn. He idly wondered what to do with a whole afternoon free. Play some video games? Watch tv? Read some comics?

After brief consideration, he discarded all these ideas, and headed straight to his room. Right now what he wanted the most was to get some rest. Hopefully this time Penny would show him some mercy.

The blond boy hummed, thinking about his friend. Nearly a week has passed since they'd severed the Link, and it was both smaller and bigger change than he expected.

He could still see Penny's "avatar," but it was blurry, sometimes glitching out, or just turning into a simple ball of green light.

They could still talk, but it was as if he was reading messages and just _imagining_ it was her who said it.

And, of course, he couldn't feel her emotions. But he still was aware of her presence, like an itch in the back of his head, right where his implant was.

Without even thinking, he reached out and touched the smooth metal surface. At the beginning, he was ashamed of it. He saw it as an eternal reminder of the fact that, at the end of the day, he was still a cripple.

But now?

It was a symbol.

Of him winning over his disability.

Of his connection with Penny.

Of his involvement in ARES.

The blond boy smiled. Gepetto said he was already working on the third model of the suit. Jaune couldn't wait to find out what it would be capable of.

* * *

_**P:A v2.5 logs entry 11**_

_Just as I expected, severing the Link with Simple Soul greatly increased the capacity of Operator's Semblance. While it initially led to an overall decrease in performance of ARES (Operator described it as the suit feeling 'heavier'), after some practice it started returning to standard levels. However, there are some differences._

_Aura consumption went up, and it seems like Operator is having trouble keeping up steady performance in rapidly changing environments. _

_However, he is capable of operating the suit with much greater precision when he can focus on a single task. While the suit moves slower, it appears that it reacts faster to Operator's commands._

_In conclusion, while linking with Simple Soul makes operating the suit easier, severing it and assuming full control can be beneficial in certain situations. Both options should be explored._

_Regarding the overheating problem, initially I tried to limit the amount of Aura Operator can transfer into suit, but it had the opposite effect than intended. Limited Aura transfer forced Operator to create more Links, thus increasing Aura consumption, and as a result heat generation._

_But I think I finally found the solution - and possible way to operate the suit without use of Operator's Semblance. Seeing as limiting Aura transfer did not solve the problem, I tried to make it easier by installing an additional socket for direct Aura transfer._

_The increase in performance was noticeable, but not as big as simulations suggested. Still, it's the best solution I can think of. I believe that adding more sockets, as well as properly integrating them into the suit's frames should lead to even greater results._

* * *

The Atlesian Knight model 145 was, by many, still considered the best instalment of the series. Even though it was over ten years old, and several new models had already been developed, it was still the most produced and used combat droid by both the Atlesian military, and many private companies across the world. Cheap in production, easy to maintain, it might not have as good performance as newer units, but it could hold its own against most common threats, especially in greater numbers.

Jaune grinned, crushing the head of one such knight in his hand. He lifted it in front of him, using the disabled unit to shield himself from incoming gunfire. He ran ahead, slamming into another droid, his fist crashing into its torso.

It flew through the whole room and slammed into the wall, its remains flying in every direction.

The maniacal grin adorning Jaune's face grew even larger.

_This is awesome._

The blond dashed forward, dropping his improvised shield, bullets chasing after him. He knew he could just run ahead, that low caliber bullets couldn't hurt him, but Gepetto insisted he try to avoid being hit as much as possible.

And damn was much more fun that way.

He circled his opponent, slowly closing the distance, and waiting. Guns were wonderful weapons, but, unlike some games and a lot of movies wanted you to believe, you couldn't shoot one infinitely. At some point, you had to reload. The Atlesian Knight could reload his SAAR in 1.5 second.

Jaune, clad in the third iteration of ARES suit, covered the ten meters separating him from his target in less than half of that time. He grabbed the droid by the neck, his other hand closing over the mecha's arm. He pulled, ripping the appendage off, then pushed its head down, to meet his ascending knee. The Atlesian Knight fell to the floor, now nothing more than a bundle of scrap and spare parts.

They were good units, capable of holding their own even against larger Grimm, if they had the numbers advantage.

And Jaune just tore twenty of them apart in less than ten minutes.

He looked around, just to make sure there were no more enemies.

"Penny?"

One of the fallen droids was surrounded by a red hue. Jaune picked the gun off the Knight he just defeated, took aim, and sent out two short bursts. The red hue disappeared, but Jaune didn't lower his gun.

**"I'm not detecting any more active enemy units. I believe the test is over." **

Jaune just stood there for a few moments, panting heavily. The sound of his frantic heartbeat in his ears, the pain in his muscles, the elation of victory, it was too much. He threw his head back and screamed, announcing his triumph to the whole world.

"I take it you enjoyed yourself?"

Jaune turned towards Gepetto, who just entered the room. The old doctor watched his pupil with an amused smile. Jaune chuckled, but all the excitement overpowered any embarrassment he might have felt.

"Yeah…"

"So? How was it?"

"Amazing! It moves much smoother than before, it doesn't drain as much Aura, and it doesn't turn into an oven when I want to push it harder."

"I'm glad to hear it. I need some time to analyze the data we obtained, but it looks promising. For now, take a break, we will resume tests in half an hour."

"Should I take the suit off?"

"There is no need."

The blond nodded and leaned against the wall. The ARES mk3 looked identical to its predecessor, but something must have changed since piloting it felt much easier. Jaune supposed he could just ask Gepetto for the details, but discarded the idea. He made this mistake once, and spent the next three hours just sitting there, desperately trying to catch even a single understandable word from the relative flood that the old scientist was spewing. Eventually, he was saved by his father, and he swore to never make this mistake again.

A few minutes later, Gepetto announced it was time to begin the next exercise. This time it was an obstacle course.

Jaune smiled. He couldn't wait to see what his new toy was capable of.

* * *

_First tests of mk 3 are very promising. The unit performs much better, and the problem with the overheating is almost completely gone. I think it's safe to say that abandoning the hybrid construction and focusing on the Aura Fibers was the right call. While I wasn't able to completely discard traditional materials, I replaced most of them._

_While it did force me to design many subsystems from scratch, not to mention increased production cost and time, the results are well worth the effort. Even in its current state, the new unit is more than capable of holding its own in a fight. Speed and power are above what I expected, but its defensive capabilities need improvement. Implementing HIDE technology should solve this problem._

_Additional sensors proved quite useful. While Operator has trouble operating all auxiliary systems on his own, with the support of Simple Soul he can make good use of all additional information._

_While I was hesitant to pursue this solution, seeing as it's unlikely that the connection between Operator and Simple Soul could be fully replicated, I believe a simplified version could be used in mass produced models._

_Only significant downside of all implemented changes is increased Aura consumption, when operating at maximum power. Operator can last only for twenty minutes, compared to almost an hour of mk 2. However, when operating at lower settings, it can last even longer than before._

_Summarizing:_

_General performance saw a great increase compared to the previous model. Lowered operation time at maximum settings. Increased on lowest settings. On standard setting operation time is mostly the same._

_Increased speed and strength. Lower durability, especially against blunt force. Should be easily solved by implementing HIDE technology._

_Implementing additional scanners, even if Operator needs outside assistance to operate them in most cases, proved greatly beneficial. Exploring more options that would take advantage of Operator and Simple Soul's connection may prove to be beneficial, even if such solutions will be hard to replicate for general use._

_Aura Fibers proved to be much more effective material than anticipated. More tests are needed to determine their full potential._

_Conclusion:_

_Current ARES unit performance far exceeds what was set as minimally acceptable for the initial project, and in some cases even our best-case scenarios. Even if it was not its intended function, the suit is capable of high performance in a fight, and should prove effective in combating the majority of commonly encountered Grimm, as well as armed opponents. While I wouldn't consider the suit finished yet, I believe it is time to move to field tests._

_Also, thanks to all the data I was able to obtain from recent tests, I think I'm ready to begin construction of a personal unit for Simple Soul. All I need now is a blueprint, but as per our arrangement, Simple Soul will deliver it to me when ready._

_I'm close now, so very close. _

Gepetto stretched, and stifled a yawn. He stared at the latest entry in his journal, considering his options. Field tests were a necessary step, but also a very delicate subject he had yet to bring up with Arthur.

He glanced at his scroll. It was almost three in the morning. Arthur was either asleep, or running late night drills for whatever poor souls were put in his tender care.

_I'll guess I'll just catch some sleep._

And maybe make some plans. This was not a conversation he could go in for unprepared.

* * *

_"So, you want to start field tests now, right?"_

_And there goes the plan._

Gepetto sighed. It took Arthur no time at all to figure out what he wanted to talk about. The Arc patriarch listened to Gepetto's report about ARES progress without interrupting, then nodded once and cut straight to the chase.

"Yes. I believe that the current design is the best I can come up with our current knowledge. All that is left is optimization. Some things I can do in the lab, but to progress further, ARES needs some live experience."

_"Allright. Keep me updated on any progress. And keep him away from Grimm for now."_

Gepetto blinked. That was unexpected.

Arthur smirked.

_"Surprised?"_

"Yeah." Gepetto massaged his forehead. "I was certain I'd have to fight tooth and nail to get you to agree to this."

_"It's not like I didn't know this would happen sooner or later. I had a lot of time to think about it, and I have come to realize one thing - that there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who hide and those who fight. And Jaune is definitely a warrior."_

"How do you know?"

_"For one, he is my son. And besides that, it wasn't that long since he went off to fight an armed terrorists to save a group of people he had never met before. When we talked afterwards, I could see it in his eyes. This fire, this burning desire to go out there and do something, to make a difference. To make a name for himself." _Arthur chuckled, shaking his head.

_"I'd have to be a pretty big hypocrite to deny him such a chance."_

"Even if it means putting his life in danger?"

_"Yes. I will not stop him. I'll just make sure he is more prepared than I was when I ran out there."_

"You had years of combat training, not to mention a team to watch your back. And you didn't need implants to be able to walk."

Arthur chuckled.

_"True. But I didn't have high tech power armor, or a friend that apparently can hack into any device, or system, no matter how well protected. As for combat training, we can figure something out. Just don't throw him to the Grimm just yet. Let him play around with droids first."_

Gepetto laughed.

"Well, if you are so willing to give me a green light, I won't complain."

"_Allright, I need to go now. I'll leave the details to you, just keep me updated. See you later, Doc."_

With that the call ended.

Gepetto stared at the dark screen for a few moments, his lips slowly twisting into a smile. Arthur's agreement was a surprise, but welcome one. With his blessing, project ARES could enter the next stage.

As long as Jaune agreed. It will be harder, and more dangerous too, but somehow the old scientist didn't doubt that his patient would decide to see it through.

* * *

Pale moonlight covered the world, reflecting off pure white snow. It gave off enough light to see quite clearly, despite it being late at night.

Which was why Jaune was glued to the Bullhead's window through the majority of their flight. He wasn't even sure how long they were in the air, he was too busy drinking up the incredible sights.

Some people might claim that a snow covered tundra at night wasn't that interesting.

Those people, naturally, had every right to have their own opinion. And they were completely and utterly wrong.

Maybe it was how the snow sparkled in the pale light. Maybe it was how the snow covered trees that he could make out in front of him gently swayed under the wind, but the primal beauty of this sight really spoke to Jaune's soul. He just wished Penny was there to admire it with him. But so far from the clinic, it was impossible for them to connect.

_Never mind. Once she gets her body, we'll go camping. Maybe Dad will tag along too? It will be just like old times._

The blond smiled.

His father took him out to camp in the forest a few times. "Boys' alone time" he called it. They only went two or three times, never for more than three days, and never too far from the nearest city. Arthur promised they would go on a _real_ camping trip once Jaune turned thirteen.

The blond's smile fell a little. That never happened, on the account of him being paralized and needing constant medical attention.

Jaune sighed, and shook his head to get rid of the unpleasant thoughts. Things were bad back then, but they were good now. He could walk again. He almost could run. He had an awesome friend in Penny and dare he say it, in Gepetto.

He had ARES.

His smile returned. When his father called him and told him he would be going out of the city to conduct 'field tests' of ARES, the blond boy couldn't believe his ears. Only when Gepetto walked into his room and confirmed it was really happening, did Jaune believe.

"Consider it a warm up. If you do well, we will go on that camping trip I promised you." His father said.

Of course, even though it was his private clinic, Gepetto couldn't just snatch one of his patients and fly him away somewhere into the Atlesian wilds. People would ask questions. So, as of yesterday, Jaune had finished his rehabilitation and was no longer a patient of Gepetto's clinic.

Officially at least.

Jaune wasn't sure what bullshit reason Gepetto gave to keep him there, or more importantly how his father convinced the rest of his family he should stay, but it happened. The blond smiled again. He wasn't sure where the old doctor was taking him, but he couldn't help the excitement that built up.

ARES was nearing completion. Gepetto said that the suit's main frame was about as good as it could get with the current technology. All that was left to do was to iron out details. Minor performance improvements, adding a proper HUD, and additional equipment.

And weapons.

Jaune didn't dare to ask, but Gepetto confirmed that live testing would include real combat. Not immediately, but he said with a smile that if everything went according to plan, Jaune would get a chance to fight real Grimm in two or three weeks.

The blond grinned. Not even a full year ago, he was lying in a hospital bed, full paralized, and without any hope of ever recovering.

Now he was close to standing against Humanity's greatest enemy, a dream he had abandoned long ago.

And all thanks to this eccentric old man sitting next to him. Jaune glanced at Gepetto, who was seemingly completely focused on piloting the large Bullhead. How could he ever repay the old man for all he had done for him?

_I guess I'll have to think of something._

Jaune was broken out of his musings when the Bullhead started to slow down. It hovered for a moment before beginning a slow descent.

"We are here." Gepetto announced.

Jaune looked around curiously. They were in a large clearing, surrounded by snow covered trees. He could see two buildings in front of them, a wooden cabin, and some kind of barn.

Overall, it looked more like some kind of farm, rather than a secret testing facility.

"Grab the suit and move it to the barn. Then join me in the house. We need to talk about a few things."

* * *

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Asked Jaune once the two of them settled down.

"About the future. ARES is nearing its completion. In fact, it's already fully functional, all that is left is a few finishing touches." Gepetto said. "That means that, once we are done with practical tests, your involvement will no longer be necessary."

"Oh." Jaune deflated. So this was it, huh? He knew from the very beginning that this wouldn't last forever.

"So, you have to decide what you want to do."

The blond blinked, surprised.

"What?"

"You can quit ARES, and either go back to Vale, or stay here in Atlas. Go to school and lead a normal life. Or..." Gepetto leaned closer, his eyes locked on Jaune's " we could put our little project to good use."

Jaune shifted uncomfortably. The whole idea of continuing with ARES was appealing, but the older man's gaze was a bit too intense for his liking.

"A-am I really the one who should be deciding such things? It's your project after all."

"It's _our_ project, Jaune. I had an idea, but ideas are cheap. It's making them into reality that is hard, and this one would never become reality without your help. So yes, I think you have as much to say about ARES' future as I do. Maybe more, considering you are literally the only person in the whole world who can pilot the damn thing."

Jaune laughed, rubbing the back of his head. He did consider himself part of ARES, but having said it out loud like that by Gepetto himself did make him feel good.

"Well, I certainly would like to continue. It wouldn't feel right to just let it sit in the basement and gather dust." he said, smiling at the older man, who responded in kind.

"I know right? It would be just so wasteful." He took another sip from his cup and hummed. "So, just for the record, we both agree that ARES should be put to use?"

Jaune nodded eagerly.

Gepetto smiled, but it soon fell.

"Good. Unfortunately, it means that soon we will have to deal with the greatest plague that torments humanity. Politics."

The old doctor spat the last word with such hatred Jaune couldn't stop a wince. Was it really that bad?

"While I always intended for it to be mass produced, I don't think it's possible. Not until a more efficient method of producing Aura Fibers is developed. That means that model 3.5 will remain as the only functioning ARES unit for the foreseeable future. Which means that there will be people, influential people, that will want to take control of it. And we have to decide with whom we side."

"Do we really have to? It's not like anyone can just take ARES away from you, right?"

"No, they can't. Not immediately at least, but there will be people, with Council at the forefront, that will try. If not to use it to gain more influence, then to prevent someone else from doing it. The more we try to stay independent, the harder they will press. It will be easier in the long run to get allies now."

"Better to propose cooperation, than to be asked for it?"

"That's right. Right now we hold all the cards, so we can negotiate some good conditions for ourselves. If we wait, we might find ourselves in a situation where we need some support."

Gepetto took a sip from his cup and remained silent for a few moments.

"We could spend a lot of time considering who the best ally might be, but it all boils down to three choices. We either look for an influential, private company that will help us out for profit. If we play it right, this should offer us the most independence. But the best, and unfortunately _only_ real candidate here is SDC."

"Why is it unfortunate? Even I know that Schnee's are the richest people on Remnant."

"Because, Jaune, they are also self-centered, arrogant, greedy assholes, that would sell off their own family into slavery if the price was right. They care only about making more money, and _can't_ be trusted, under any circumstances." Gepetto said it all with a calm voice, but Jaune could feel the pure hatred radiating from the man.

_I wonder if there is some history between Gepetto and the SDC._

"Ok. What are our other options?"

"Government and Military."

"Aren't they basically the same thing?"

"Not really. While the military is technically controlled by the Council, unless it's something really big, the one who makes the decisions is Ironwood. And he is probably the only politician that I trust to do the right thing, rather than the most popular."

"Wait." Jaune said "Can't we just act like independent Hunters? Like my dad?"

"Unfortunately, no. Even Hunters have to be registered to gain a licence and be allowed to take official jobs, use weapons in the city, and so on. Even if we did register you as a Hunter, which you would have to either go to school or pass an exam for, people will still want to try to take control of you. As a completely independent force, you, or rather ARES, are too dangerous."

"But why? My combat test results aren't that great."

"Maybe. But you managed to hold your own against Jackal. I did some research on him, and even though he is supposedly not extremely skilled, he _is_ a Hunter. And you managed to hold him off."

"More like I barely managed to not get killed." Jaune mumbled.

Gepetto shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. People will believe what they want. A mecha that can face a trained Huntsman is valuable. An armor that lets untrained fifteen year olds who can barely walk do the same is dangerous. Do you know why?"

Jaune shook his head.

"Because a mindless machine will not go rogue. It will not decide to run off to another kingdom, or settle down somewhere. It will always obey orders. It's easy to control. But technology that potentially allows anyone to fight on a Hunter level? That is something no government would want."

"But why? If everyone would be strong enough to fight Grimm, we would be safer, right?"

Gepetto shook his head slowly.

"From Grimm, maybe. But man's greatest enemy was, is, and always will be other men. Why do you think not everyone has their Aura unlocked?"

"Ummm… because it's very hard to do so? And it requires training to use effectively?"

"Yes, those are valid reasons, but there is another. Escalation of power."

"Escalation of power?"

"Yes. For a normal, Aura-less person, a simple gun, or even a knife, is a big threat. A single police officer, with a simple handgun has enough 'power' to stop your average criminal. In response to that, criminals seek to acquire more power. They band together, arm themselves with bigger guns and so on. Why do you think we dont give better equipment to police in response?"

Jaune pondered the question for a moment.

"Because then criminals would buy bigger guns?"

Gepetto smiled and nodded.

"Exactly. Sure, not every single petty thief would start carrying assault rifles around, and we might see a decrease in small crimes, but any bigger incidents would become even more devastating. It's the same with Aura. It's easy to subdue civilians, but a Hunter is another story."

"But if everyone had their Aura unlocked, would it really change anything? Everyone would be on the same level."

"Unfortunately, no. Aura works like a multiplier. The difference between people who are physically fit and those that aren't would be even greater. But even if that was not the case, there is another problem with having the whole population have superpowers - collateral damage. Imagine that two people got into a brawl. It usually ends up with a few bruises, and little to no property damage. But if it were two Hunters?" Gepetto shook his head " Just recall how much of a mess you and Jackal made. And believe me, it can be much worse."

Jaune winced. He really did make a mess back then, didn't he?

"That's why we register Hunters, to keep them in check. Especially the more powerful ones"

"But do we really have to go official with this? We could keep it unofficial. Just jump out from time to time, help people in trouble and be gone soon after."

Gepetto looked at the blond boy and smirked.

"You want to become a vigilante superhero?"

Jaune chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"I gotta admit I considered it…"

"You did?!"

"But that was before you fought Jackal. Now that the Council knows about ARES they won't be fooled. Not for long anyway. And as much as I dislike the idea, it's better to work with them than against them."

Jaune sighed.

"So, is it either the military or the Council?"

"Pretty much."

Jaune groaned. He was just a crippled teenager. Why was Gepetto asking him to make such important decisions?

"I really don't know what to say, Doctor."

Gebetto chuckled and nodded.

"I suppose. But don't worry, it's not like we have to make any decisions right now. We still have at least a month of tests before I allow you to use ARES in real combat, so we still have time. I just wanted you to be aware of what situation we are in." The older man got up, and patted Jaune's shoulder. "Think about it. But for now, go get some sleep. We begin the tests early tomorrow."

"Allright." Jaune got up, and smiled at the older man. "Good night, Doc."

"Good night, Jaune."

* * *

**And that wraps it up. ARES enter the next stage of development, and Jaune, Gepetto and Arthur have to make some important decisions. Good thing they still have some time to think it through, right?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Welcome to Ch. 12 I hope you will enjoy it**

* * *

"Another transport just arrived! Tell the medics to take care of them!"

"We need more stretches at the landing pad!"

"Someone fix those damn lights!"

"Report coming in from the recon Team! They are saying…"

"Backup needed at…"

"Squad 3 reporting in…"

"Another sighting…"

"Sir! We've got..."

Arthur tried his best to tune out all the noise. It was a lost cause, what with the whole base being in uproar, but let no one say that the Arc patriarch was one to give up easily. He focused on the holographic map in front of him, hoping that if he stared at it long enough all his problems would go away.

"Sir!"

And it started as such a nice day. Weather was nice, sixteen Specialist recruits he had under his care had actually started to show some progress, and that old fart Marcus took almost a third of the base personnel on some bandit hunt, meaning there was no one to complain about his teaching methods.

Well, no one whose opinion he had to care about at least.

Unfortunately, it also meant he was technically the highest ranking officer here, so when a sudden snowstorm hit them, followed shortly by reports of a huge horde of Grimm approaching nearby settlements, he was the one who had to do something about it.

And it was _not_ his kind of job. If you had some Grimm to kill, bandits to hunt down, or arrogant brats in need of training, Arthur Arc was your man. But managing a large scale military operation?

No. Just no.

_Fuck you, Marcus. Why the hell couldn't you send me to deal with those bandits?_

"Sir?"

Nevermind. He might not be the best man for the job, but someone had to be in charge, and as Marcus often said, a good leader knew how to delegate.

"Sir!"

Arthur shook his head, finally realizing that the young soldier next to him was indeed trying to get his attention.

"Yes?"

"Team Alpha just called in. They are mostly done with Grimm in their sector. Teams Bravo and Delta are still fighting, but they are doing fine. Air recon suggests that there are no more Grimm coming their way. Team Omega are under heavy assault, they had to retreat to a nearby village. They are holding off for now, but might need assistance if more Grimm shows up. The Beoolves are reporting no more Grimm, or refugees in their sector, and are heading back. The Ursas encountered a small group of civilians, and are currently escorting them to safety."

Arthur sighed. It looked like the situation was mostly under control. The snowstorm was both curse and blessing, it lowered visibility and made movement harder. Thankfully, Atlas APCs had no trouble traveling in such weather, and now that the storm had calmed down, they had another advantage.

"Do we have any spare bullheads?"

"One, sir."

Arthur studied the holographic map in front of him for a moment, considering his options.

"Send it to team Alpha, take as many people as they can spare and move them to assist team Omega. Tell the Beowolves to…"

He paused when a new red dot appeared on the map, far away from green ones representing Atlas forces.

And very close to the blue one, indicating one of many fishing villages in this area.

Arthur let out a tired sigh.

"Tell the Beowolves to move in and intercept those Grimm."

The soldier looked at the map, then back at his commander.

"Sir, if I may. It's a pretty big pack. One team will not be able to hold them off."

"No, they won't." Arthur agreed easily, pulling up the scroll he'd been holding ever since this mess started and pressed the call button. "But they will have backup."

"Sir, we don't have…"

"I know. Now get back to work."

"Yes, sir!"

Arthur tapped his foot impatiently waiting for a call to go through.

"Is it operational?" he asked as soon as the other person accepted the call.

"_What…"_

"Is. It. Operational?"

There were a few seconds of silence.

"_Yes. I just finished checkups. We..."_

"Then load it on a bullhead. I'll send you coordinates - you will have your 'practical test' there."

A few more seconds of silence before the other person spoke again.

"_What will we be dealing with?"_

"Grimm. About thirty, maybe forty. Sabertooths, there might be Alpha among them. Some of my men are there, but they can't deal with it alone."

There was no answer, and the call ended. Arthur pocketed his scroll and sighed.

_I hope you're ready, son._

* * *

Emotions, Jaune decided, were funny things. You thought you understood what they meant, and that it was easy to tell what mood you were in. But then a situation happened that made you question everything you thought you knew.

Like for example, sitting in bullhead, in your brand-new Aura-powered armor, that was _not _fully tested, heading to fight a huge pack of Grimm.

Jaune knew he should feel _something. _Excitement, or more likely, fear. But that was not the case. He felt nothing. When Gepetto announced they would be heading off to fight real Grimm, on his father requests non the less, he just nodded, suited up and started heading towards the bullhead.

All the while being completely calm.

Well, that was not completely true. In fact, it was completely the opposite of the truth. He was equal parts terrified and giddy from excitement. A strange mix, the two different emotions fought for supremacy, leaving him completely calm until one won. Or was it simply because his brain had overloaded? Jaune had no idea.

_Is this how it feels to be in shock? Or is it denial? _ He thought, as bullhead took off.

The blond let out a sigh and focused on the map in front of him. It was extremely detailed, displaying a lot of supplemental information. Jaune chuckled.

"Penny, I don't think the humidity of air is something I need to know."

He had no idea what Gepetto did to allow him and Penny to connect so far outside of the clinic, but he wasn't going to complain. Though he suspected that the strange device sitting in the corner of the bullhead's cargo hold had something to do with it.

"**Understood, Friend Jaune. I'll adjust the display settings right away."**

The blond smiled. Penny's presence was comforting, and might very well be why he was able to remain calm.

_We fought terrorists together. What are few Grimm compared to that?_

They were about to find out, he supposed, examining his weapon. It was shaped like a sword, but really it was just a big hunk of steel. Gepetto said it was just a placeholder, and he was going to give him something proper soon. They even spent a few hours coming up with different ideas. Some were accepted, many more discarded.

"**Friend Jaune, we are approaching the designated area. "**

The blond took a deep breath and got up. This was it. ARES big debiut. It was much faster than any of them expected, or wanted, but Jaune supposed it didn't matter. He, no, _they _were going to go out there kill some Grimm, and make a name for themselves.

Red numbers appeared in the center of his vision, slowly counting down.

_Allright. You trained for this. Not much, but still. You have ARES. You have Penny. You can do it._

The counter hit 60.

_Just keep calm, don't do anything stupid. Don't lose track of your surroundings. Don't overextend. Don't chase. Just kill any Grimm that comes close. _

30\. He could already hear gunshots.

_Let Penny handle the details, just focus on swinging your sword. It will all be good._

20\. Jaune grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. It was dark outside, but the white snow made spotting dark shapes of Grimm much easier.

"Alright. We ready, Penny?"

The world brightened, and red outlines surrounded the dark shapes of Grimm as Penny activated night vision and whatever other support systems Gepetto packed into the suit.

"**We are combat ready!"**

Jaune grinned, and jumped out.

There was a brief moment when he just hung there, suspended in the air, before gravity took hold of him and began to drag him down, towards the ground and Grimm. He pummeled towards the ground, shifting in the air to land feet first.

He hit the ground, bending his legs on instinct. The impact wasn't as strong as he expected - either because the suit was much better at absorbing it than Jaune expected, or because the Sabertooth he landed on softened it.

"Thanks." Jaune muttered to the now dead beast, raising to his full height and reading his sword. The first Grimm that approached him was cut in half, the next one shared its fate. Jaune grinned, impaling the third one, then slamming his weapon down on the fourth. With a roar, the blond charged forward, swinging his sword in a wide arc, without any care for style or technique. There were so many Grimm surrounding him that he was bound to hit something.

And soon he discovered that a life and death fight was much simpler than he expected. Even though he realized that he was in danger, even though his heart pounded like a drum, and his body felt as if it was on fire, Jaune remained calm.

"**Jaune, I advise against taking such large swings. They leave you exposed and increase the chance of losing balance. Also, priority target A is approaching fast from your left."**

Jaune spun, sword already mid swing. The Grimm that was charging at him was bigger than others, with a row of very sharp-looking spikes along its spine, and two short horns on its forehead.

_Oh, so this is the Alpha. _

Jaune thought, just before the massive beast hit him in the chest. They fell and tumbled, both fighting to end up on top - a fight Jaune lost. The Grimm roared, giving him a nice view on several rows of serrated teeth, that were quickly coming closer. The blond just barely managed to put his hands in the way, not willing to test if his helmet could withstand the Grimm's bite.

"Next time warn me earlier, Penny!"

"**Understood, Friend Jaune. I'll update my data to account for your poor reflexes."**

The blond glared at the miniature avatar of his friend, but any anger he might felt evaporated when he saw her wide smile and shining eyes.

_I just can't get angry at her._

The fact he _knew_ she didn't mean to insult him didn't help. With a sigh, Jaune returned his attention to more pressing matters - like the massive beast trying to bite his head off. He looked around, looking for his sword, but couldn't see it anywhere.

_Probably dropped it when it hit me._

Not that he could grab it even if it was close by. He needed both hands to keep the Grimm at bay, and even if he did pick it up he wouldn't be able to use it at such a close distance. With a sigh, Jaune looked back to Grimm. Its angry, blood-red eyes were just a few centimeters from his face, its teeth were gnawing on his arms, and its front paws were clawing at his stomach. His Aura was steadily dropping, he was unarmed, and there were still a few Grimm around circling them.

And despite all of this, Jaune was still calm.

Well, that wasn't completely true. It was more like his mind and body were completely separated. He knew he felt hot, his body was drenched in sweat, his heart was pounding like a hundred times per minute and his breaths were coming out in hars gasps.

But at the same time he could still think clearly.

_Ok, this is a bit creepy. _

Well, creepy or not, he better not waste any time. He had no idea how long this strange calm lasted, so it was probably best if he looked for a way out of this situation.

The Grimm growled when a few bullets hit its back, but it didn't stop its efforts in ripping Jaune apart.

"Penny, if you can contact those soldiers, tell them to focus on the smaller Grimm. I'd rather they don't pile up on us."

"**Understood."**

"And…" he paused for a moment, wondering if there was really no other way out of this. Then just sighed and shook his head.

"Remove transfer limiter."

"**Are you certain? Judging by the current Aura level, the suit will be rendered inoperational in about thirty seconds if operated at maximum power."**

"If you have any other ideas, I'm open to suggestions."

"**Understood. Removing Aura transference limiter in 3...2...1… Limit Break engaged."**

Jaune gasped when his Aura poured out of his body and into the suit. Suddenly, every sensation he felt became that much stronger. The solid ground underneath him, the cold air washing over him, the sound of gunfire. And, of course, the snarling of Grimm that was trying to tear him apart.

Jaune frowned. Some part of him expected to feel pain, but he felt none. Not from jaws firmly locked on his hand, nor form the claws digging into his chest and stomach. Then he realized that it was probably not something he should be concerned about - not now at least.

Jaune freed one of his hands, then punched the Grimm in the side of its head. At first the Sabertooh's only reaction was a low growl. Whether out of anger, pain, or just surprise at the sudden assault, Jaune didn't care. He repeated the action two more times, before its grip on his other hand lessened enough for the blond to yank it free.

The forth hit sent the Grimm stumbling, and allowed Jaune to get back on his feet. He eyed his opponent, waiting for the assault. Instead of attacking, the beast started slowly circling him.

Jaune grit his teeth. He needed to end this fast, or he was done for. A few images popped in his vision, and the blonde smiled.

"Thank's, Penny."

Following his friend's instruction, he charged ahead. The Grimm looked surprised for a moment, before roaring and lunging.

_Everything…_

Jaune ducked low, and just as Grimm was passing above his head, he jumped, wrapping his arms around the beast's torso and twisting mid-air. They both hit the ground, but this time it was human that ended on top.

...according…

The blond raised, still holding the Grimm. It tried desperately to reach its prey, but Jaune was too close for it to effectively use its claws, and it couldn't bend low enough to reach him with its jaws.

The blond grinned.

_...to plan!_

He squeezed as hard as he could. The Grimm started thrashing even harder, but it was too late. The blond squeezed harder, crushing the black beast in his grip. There was a loud crack, then another, and the bone plating covering Grimm's body shattered. It roared, maybe in pain, maybe in anger, one more time before another crack sounded and its body stilled and started dispersing into black mist.

"Deactivate Limit Break."

"**Limit break deactivated. Setting Aura transfer to standard level. Estimating operational time - two minutes, thirteen seconds."**

Jaune let out a tired sigh. This was far more intense than any session with drones he had had. Taking a deep, shaky breath to calm himself down, he looked around for his sword. He found it just a few meters ahead, lying in the snow.

"Well, that was a thing." he muttered to himself, picking his weapon up. "Penny, damage report."

"**Damage to the suit is minimal, all systems are fully operational. However, your Aura is extremely low, at around 10%. I suggest refraining from moving too much, and disabling all non-essential systems to preserve your Aura."**

The boy smiled weakly.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I feel like I'm about to pass out."

"**Don't worry Jaune. I already contacted Father and informed him that the mission was completed. He should be here any moment now."**

Jaune smiled weakly.

"Thanks, Penny."

It took no more than five minutes for a grey, unmarked bullhead to land just a few meters away from Jaune. The blond waited for the back ramp to open, all the time very aware of the six Atlas soldiers watching him carefully. After the fight ended, they walked closer to get a better look at the ARES suit, but so far none of them approached or tried to talk to him.

Once inside, Jaune slumped against the wall, breathing deeply. He did it. He fought Grimm. Like a true Hunter. It felt…significantly less awesome than he expected.

* * *

The trip back to Gepetto's house passed in silence. The old scientist was busy piloting the bullhead, while Jaune was trying his best to stop shaking. It started slowly, at first it was just his hands, but now his whole body was trembling. His heart was beating like crazy, and for a moment there he was on verge of hyperventilating. Thankfully, Penny managed to calm him down.

"How are you feeling?" Gepetto asked once they landed.

"F-fine. Just a bit shaken, I guess." Jaune said, trying to keep his voice even.

He almost succeeded.

Gepetto just nodded.

"You go get some rest. I'll check on the suit. We will talk in the morning."

"A-alright." Jaune smiled weakly "Goodnight, Doctor."

"Goodnight."

Jaune went straight to his bathroom, splashed his face with water and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked… not bad. Far better than he felt at the moment. He wasn't shaking as much now, only his hands trembled a little. Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

_Well, this is embarrassing. _He thought, pulling away from the mirror. He quickly washed himself up, changed into his sleeping attire, and dropped on his bed.

What the hell was happening with him? He was so calm during the fight, so why was he so spooked now? Even after the White Fang incident he didn't feel like that. He tried to connect to Penny on reflex, but stopped himself. Gepetto was very clear that he shouldn't link with a virtual girl outside of training sessions. While he didn't say why, the conversation they had some time ago was enough for Jaune to hold himself back.

With an angry sigh, the blond closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would bring him respite, but even in his dreams blood-red, glowing eyes were chasing him down.

* * *

"So, how are you feeling?" Asked Gepetto, handing Jaune a cup of tea. The teen thanked the older man, smiling weakly.

"To be honest, not so good."

"You had nightmares?"

Jaune stared into his cup, not meeting old scientist's eyes. After a few long moments of silence, he slowly nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't understand why. I didn't have any after the White Fang incident."

Gepetto watched him for a few moments, before sighing.

"I'm not a psychologist, so I can only guess, but I think the difference was in perception. Tell me, Jaune, back durning the White Fang attack, did at any point you consider the fact that you might die?"

The blond hummed, lost in thought. To be honest, those events were blurr to him. He couldn't remember how he felt back then. He recalled being nervous, and constantly freaking out about what to do, and how he should act, and how to free the hostages without alarming the Faunus terrorists… Overall, he was worried about many things, but now that he thought about it, dying wasn't one of them. Oh, sure, he knew it was dangerous, but thought that he might be in danger never crossed his mind. Even when facing Jackal, the opponent he logically knew he couldn't hope to defeat, he never really considered the possibility of dying.

He had the ARES suit to protect him after all, and all he needed to do was hold on until reinforcements came.

"I'm not sure. It was quite some time ago, and a lot has happened since then, but… I don't think so. I guess I was more worried about the hostages to consider it." Jaune paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "Why did I never consider it…?" he asked quietly. Gepetto just shrugged.

"That's a topic for another discussion. For now, let's focus on the problem at hand - your nightmares. I assume that yesterday was different than when you fought those Faunus?"

Jaune nodded slowly.

"Yeah. But it was still weird. I was calm the whole time. Well, maybe not calm, but… I don't know. I mean, I knew I should be excited, or scared or something, but… It was strange. I want to say I wasn't, but I think I was." The blond groaned, clutching his head in his hands. "It's so weird! When you told me I'm going off to fight Grimm, at first there was excitement, then nervousness, and some fear. But after I suited up, it all became… muted. At first I thought it was just because Penny was distracting me with all the intel she was giving me, and we really have to have a talk with her about breaking into military data centers, but then when fighting started I just… I don't know." The blond let out a long sigh, and looked up at the ceiling.

"I felt excited...and a bit scared.,,but I think I was more excited. Only when that Alpha tackled me to the ground, when I looked into its eyes, I think that was then I realized I was fighting a real Grimm. That there will be no talking, no negotiation - that one of us would have to die. And that it would do anything to kill me, even if it died in the process. That this wasn't a game anymore. And I panicked."

Jaune let out a long sigh and looked at Gepetto.

"At least that's what I _think_ I felt. Because it all was so… distant. Disconnected. Like it wasn't really me who felt it. No, that's not right." Jaune took another deep breath, eyes closed.

"It was more like… as If I split in two. My body and mind became separate." He said after a long pause. "I felt hot, and my heart beat like crazy, and I knew I was sweating a lot… But my head was clear, I could think straight the whole time."

"I see…" Gepetto nodded to himself and sighed. "Like I said, I'm not an expert, but from what I know, it's not uncommon for people to retain their composure in extreme situations, only to break down later on. I wouldn't worry too much about it, at least for now." Gepetto pulled out his scroll, and tapped on it a few times.

Jaune had a vague idea that he should be surprised when the section of the floor their table and chairs stood at shook, and started slowly descending, but he honestly couldn't bring himself to care. He just came to accept the fact that Gepetto simply liked to have secret underground rooms.

"For now, let's focus on other subjects.'' The old doctor said once they stopped. Jaune sparred a quick look around - the room they were in was much smaller than the hall he was used to back in the clinic, but it still was probably bigger than the whole wooden house. It was full of tools, and strange machines Jaune had never seen before, except for the ARES suit standing on a small platform in the center.

"We need to decide how to proceed from now on. It is much faster than I anticipated, but we can no longer pretend ARES is not ready for combat. The Council will find out about this little incident sooner or later, so we need to act now." he turned to a blond boy with a smile. "Unless after yesterday you want to back off?"

Jaune shook his head.

"Great." Gepetto walked into the workshop, Jaune following close behind. "There is a lot to talk about, but let's focus on the immediate problem." Gepetto tapped his scroll a few times, and five large, holographic screens appeared in front of them, playing recordings of last night's fight. "I analyzed your fight, and while it was not bad, there is room for improvement. A lot of it. "

Jaune looked away, his cheeks reddening.

"Especially when it comes to situational awareness and decision making under stress." Gepetto continued.

"Hey, I think I did pretty well with it."

"Oh, really? Then why did you engage a Limit Break?"

"Because a massive Grimm was about to bite off my hands, followed shortly by my head?"

Gepetto just shook his head.

"No, it wouldn't."

Jaune blinked.

"What?"

"I checked the suit, and the damage wasn't too bad. It cracked the exterior armor, but failed to penetrate too deep. Besides, you used two hands to stop it, while one would suffice."

Jaune just stared at the older man.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"So.. does that mean I didn't have to activate Limit Break?"

"Yes."

Jaune hung his head.

"Oh…" he chucked "I guess I panicked after all."

Gepetto shrugged.

"That you did. But it's only to be expected, and part of the blame lays with me. It was your first fight against Grimm, and you had a little to no training. Not only didn't you have time to gain confidence in your skills, you also didn't have time to really test the limits of the ARES suit. You are used to fighting against opponents that pose no danger to you." Gepetto smiled at him.

Jaune decided he didn't like this smile.

"I assume that ends now?"

Gepetto nodded happily.

"This ends now. We need to step up your training, now that we are out in the open. I think your father will be able to handle combat training, advanced tactics we can practice through simulations. Not only to improve your skills, but also for you to learn the limits of suit's capabilities. But before that." he said, grinning widely. "We need to gear you up." Gepetto pressed something on his scroll, and five screens connected into a single one. Instead of recording Jaune's fight, they now displayed holographic models of various weapons.

Jaune grinned back.

"Hell yeah!"

* * *

**And that wraps it up. Jaune successfully cleared his first mission against Grimm. Good thing he had all that time to train and get used to the suit, right?**

**Oh, wait.**

**Anyway, Jaune somehow survived, and is about to get himself some proper weapons. What will they be? Well, you'll see next week.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Welcome to CH 13. Somehow managed to write it in time. JJD somehow managed to make it readable.**

**JJD: Deadlines are some bullshit**

* * *

Jaune dropped on his bed, a wide smile on his face. He and Gepeto had spent the whole day sitting in this basement, designing new weapons for ARES.

"We have money and time, no need to limit ourselves to a single one." The old scientist said with a happy smile. Jaune wasn't sure which one of them were more excited at the prospect of arming ARES, but it didn't matter, did it?

The blond chuckled, new ideas still floating in his mind. A lot of his ideas were shot down, due to being 'impractical', like his request for a full auto grenade launcher. The blond turned his head and stared at a small device sitting next to his head. It looked inconspicuous, one could easily mistake it for a simple backpack. It was made of metal, but what was really important was what was inside.

Penny's 'core'. Her heart. Her soul.

The blond sighed. He had mixed feelings about bringing Penny out of the clinic. On one hand, he was happy for her company, and for the ability to link with her whenever he wanted. And she was happy she could now leave her room, and, thanks to the camera installed in the container, observe the world around her on her own. There was even a special headset attached, to allow him - and potentially anyone to talk with her.

On the other hand, whatever this 'core' was - Jaune never dared to even try and open the container - it was what essentially made Penny, well, Penny. The blond didn't even dare to think about what would happen if it was damaged, or worse, destroyed.

The only thing that allowed him to remain calm was the knowledge that Gepetto wouldn't allow any danger to come to Penny.

And the fact it had to be done eventually. Afterall, the whole point of making a body for Penny was so she could live a normal life, not be locked in her room forever.

With a sigh, Jaune closed his eyes and relaxed. For a few moments he just lay there, unmoving, in silence. The sound of leaves rustling on the wind reached him, and suddenly he could feel said wind on his face, and the soft grass he was sitting in. A small smile crept up on his lips.

Transition from being awake to the Room was always sudden, he never could pinpoint the exact moment it happened. But recently it was becoming much easier. Jaune didn't know why, but frankly didn't care. His eyes slowly drifted open to the now familiar sight.

A giant oak tree standing alone on a small hill, among a sea of green grass, waving gently in the wind. There was a small lake nearby, but besides that there was only grass as far as one could see. For some reason, the blond boy always found the sight very calming.

"So, where are we going tonight?" he asked when he felt a familiar presence next to him.

"Oh, you are going to _love _this one! And it will be an educational trip too!" Penny exclaimed happily.

"Oh?" Jaune chuckled nervously. Last time Penny wanted to help him with his education she decided she would help him study marine life forms.

The blond shuddered at the memory

He never knew just how many terrifying creatures lurked at the bottom of oceans, and most of them weren't even Grimm!

"Yes! Oh, I can't wait!" Penny cheered.

Jaune took a deep breath and steeled his resolve, ready to face the horrors that awaited him. He liked Penny, he really did, but he couldn't deny that she lacked… common sense.

_At least she didn't try to take me on a tour through some secret military laboratories or something._

"Allright." he said, closing his eyes. "I'm ready."

He most certainly wasn't.

Penny smiled brightly, and his vision faded into black.

* * *

History, Jaune decided, could be quite an interesting subject. Especially if you didn't have to read about past events from some boring books, but could experience them on your own, thanks to your super-awesome digital friend.

The blond shifted on his horse, watching as his troops broke through enemy lines. Sure, he didn't _actually_ lead them to victory, he was just an observer, but just being here on this ancient battlefield witnessing the battle on his own was much more interesting than history lessons with Gepetto.

He smiled, as the vision slowly faded away, and he found himself in a small room, sitting in front of a small desk. In front of him stood Penny, dressed in black suit, sending him stern look. Well, she tried at least.

"And that concludes today's lesson." she announced, in her best professional voice, fixing her comically oversized glasses.

Jaune somehow managed to resist the urge to head pat her.

"Now, time for your test." she said, and a sheet of paper materialized in front of him. Jaune glanced over the questions.

"Does it make any sense to test me in my dream?"

Penny again tried to glare at him.

"Are you questioning your teacher, Mr. Arc?"

_Must… resist… the cuteness…_

The blond chuckled.

"Allright. Give me a moment."

Penny crossed her arms over her chest, smiling smugly at him.

_So adorable..._

* * *

Life, Jaune decided, was good. Almost a week had passed since Gepetto took him to the small log cabin in the woods. Almost a week since he'd fought real Grimm for the first time.

He had nightmares for two days, and was a bit jittery for three, but right now he was feeling rested, focused, and ready for action.

He was also properly armed.

Jaune admired his suit - and he wasn't even sure when he started to think of it as 'his' - with a small smile.

The massive chunk of steel that Jaune used in his first battle was discarded, and ARES had three completely new weapons.

First, a modified S.A.A.R. Though that wasn't exactly correct - when they were brainstorming ideas for Jaune's main weapon, they simply decided to pick one Jaune had at least some experience with as base. What they ended up making was much bigger than the original, with higher caliber, fire rate, and almost double the magazine capacity. After some debate, they decided to include two fire modes - burst for regular encounters, and semi-auto for when precision was needed. To help with it even further, ARES was equipped with an advanced targeting assistance system, as well as optical zoom. Unfortunately, the gun was too big, and had too much recoil for Jaune, or anyone really, use it effectively without a suit. Truly, it was more of a hand-held autocannon than an assault rifle.

The secondary weapon was small, at least compared to the main rifle. Jaune smiled proudly as he examined the weapon. It was, afterall, his own design. He put a lot of thought into it, and he was very proud of the result.

The idea behind the weapon was simple - he wanted something easy to handle if he ever found himself in a situation where he had to fight outside of the suit. As he was toying with various designs, some news flash about another attack from the White Fang caused him to recall his own encounter with the faunus terrorists - and with it few more ideas. The end result was a gun that was frankly more of a utility tool. It looked like a revolver, but its drum could hold twelve rounds. Instead of regular ammo it used dust-infused bolts, that could be modified to produce various effects - flashbangs, smokescreen, sleeping gas, anything was possible with just a bit of tinkering.

The last addition were two blades mounted on suit's wrists. Seventy centimeters long when fully extended, they could bend at about two thirds of the length to form hooks. Not as effective at killing things, but a great assistance if Jaune needed to climb a wall or something.

"So…" Gepetto turned to Jaune " wanna take it for a spin?"

The blond just grinned.

* * *

"So, how was it?" Gepetto asked two hours later.

"The Recoil is much bigger than I thought, and burst fire is far less accurate than I expected. Though that might just be me being bad at aiming." Jaune took a sip of his energy drink. "Semi-auto is… I'm not sure. More accurate than burst for sure, but the recoil is still insane. I feel like I spend more time aiming and re-adjusting after every shot than actually shooting, and I don't think I'll ever try sniping with that thing."

Gepetto nodded, noting something on his scroll.

"So, recoil is the biggest problem?"

"Yes, I would say so."

"And how about your little baby?"

Jaune smirked.

"Better than I thought, to be honest. I'll need more practice, especially with reloading, but it does its job. The two problems I noticed are that the projectiles are rather slow, at over a hundred meters it's very hard to hit fast moving targets, and the grip is a bit too small."

Jaune lifted said gun, looking it over.

"But I can use it even without a suit, and the special ammo works as intended. I probably won't be killing Goliaths, or Nevermores from it, but it's good for what it was designed for."

"All right. I will try to do something about the recoil on your rifle. You…" Gepetto trailed off. "I guess you are free for today. Or you can go back to the shooting range, get some more practice."

Jaune got up from his seat, rolling his head.

"I think I'm going to do just that." He walked up to the suit and smiled. "You there Penny?"

"**Always." **she answered, her full sized avatar popping up right next to him. The blond smiled.

"Then let's do it."

* * *

A crippled fifteen year old boy, a mad scientist and the general of the strongest military in the world, sit around the table. It sounds like the beginning of some joke, but for Jaune it was reality.

A very stressful reality.

The last week had passed relatively calmly for him. He was busy studying, hanging out with Penny, designing, and testing weapons for a super advanced suit of powered armor - you know, normal teenage stuff.

Then, just an hour earlier, when they were enjoying their lunch, Gepetto remarked that they would have guests today. That got Jaune excited - he didn't get to meet too many new people, or make too many friends.

In fact, ever since coming to Atlas, the only people he hung out with that weren't family were Penny and Gepetto.

But when General James Ironwood stepped through the front doors, Jaune just froze. Who could blame him? It wasn't everyday you met one of the most influential people on Remnant. So, now they were sitting in the living room, around a small wooden table, General Ironwood idly chatting with Gepetto, and Jaune trying his best to melt into the chair he was sitting at, become invisible, or develop a teleportation Semblance and get the hell out of this room.

Any of those would work for him now.

A pair of slightly transparent arms wrapped around him, and Jaune managed a small smile. It was strange, really, how comforting Penny's presence could be. He couldn't actually feel her hugging him, and the fact she did so from behind meant she was currently standing _inside_ his chair, which probably would look really weird if he turned, but the gesture itself was enough to let him relax a little.

"Thanks, Penny."

"**You are welcome, Jaune."**

The blond smiled hearing her speak. Recently, the times she referred to him by just his name, without adding 'friend' were more and more common. He personally liked to believe it was a good sign - that she no longer felt the need to confirm their friendship.

"Well, it's nice chatting with you, Doctor, but I think we should get to the main topic." General Ironwood said, setting his empty cup on the table. His eyes focused on Jaune - or rather the metallic object he was clutching.

"So, is that her core?"

"It's inside, General. But I believe you asked to move onto the main topic?" Gepetto answered.

"Yes, that's true." The General lifted his gaze, meeting Jaune's eyes, who in turn stiffened. "Jaune, was it?"

The blond nodded.

"Please, be at ease. We will probably be meeting a lot more often from now on." He tried to offer a smile to the younger boy.

It wasn't very effective.

The General let out a small sigh and turned back to Gepetto.

"So, what is the status of Project ARES?"

"The suit itself I would consider complete. As you already know, it has no problem standing up to your average Grimm. All that is left is to arm it properly - we already started working on it - and put Jaune through proper training."

"I see." General hummed, leaning back in his chair. "Is it possible to mass produce them?"

"No, not yet. Production costs are still far too high. Not even the materials themselves, but the equipment necessary to produce them. I was able to complete the mark 3 only because I already had a decent stockpile of materials. That, and Jaune still remains the only person capable of operating the damn thing. I have few ideas to fix that, but I don't think it will be that easy." Gepetto sighed, annoyed. "If all else fails, I think I'll just simplify the design. It will have much lower specs, but will be much easier to operate. On the brighter side, production costs will go down too."

The General nodded.

"Very well. I'll leave this matter in your hands, but I'll need regular updates on your progress. It would be nice if you gave me something I can appease the rest of the Council with at some point. Sooner, rather than later."

"Speaking of which, how did things go on your end?"

"Quite well, I would say. I managed to convince them it's not worth using taxpayers money to invest in another one of your crazy ideas. ARES will remain as a private project, done in cooperation with the Atlas army. As such, you retain full control over it, and only need to follow standard procedures - avoiding endangering the civilian population, avoiding any collateral damage, and not acting in any way that will bring danger to Atlas, or aiding others with such intent. You know, the usual."

Gepetto nodded.

"That sounds good. What's the catch?"

"You will have to inform the proper authorities of any live test you want to perform, especially if they will involve the usage of weapons. Also, they 'suggested' I appoint someone as an 'advisor' to your project. You don't have to accept, but…"

"I know, I know. In fact, it's a good thing. Jaune doesn't have any formal combat training, and simulations and practice against droids can get him only so far. If you can spare someone who could teach him not only fighting, but proper tactics, we could kill two birds with one stone."

The General hummed.

"Not a bad idea." He seemed lost in thought for a few moments before his eyes lit up. "And I think I have the perfect candidate on hand. One of my Specialists, currently on mandatory leave due to an injury sustained in the line of duty. They are young, but have an excellent track record."

"I assume the injury wasn't that bad and they constantly complain they want something to do?"

The General laughed.

"Exactly. So, what do you say?"

The old doctor nodded.

"I think it would be for the best. What do you say, Jaune?"

The blond blinked in surprise. It had looked like two adults had completely forgotten about him - and he was frankly glad for it. Now, with the two of them staring at him, Jaune didn't know what to do.

"Ummm… yes?" he tried.

Gepetto rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to agree with everything we say, you know? I told you before, and I say it again - ARES is as much your project as it is mine. As such, your word has as much, if not more, weight than mine. After all, if you decide to leave, we have no way of continuing it. So, tell me, Jaune, and think carefully before you answer - are you ok with being trained by one of the Atlas Specialists? I'll warn you right now, this will mean that training will get more intense. Up until now, we've been pretty casual about the whole thing, but if we accept this offer, things will become much more serious."

Jaune paused. Gepetto was right - and the realization shocked him more than it probably should. Up until now, ARES was a passion project. Everyone involved was doing it because it meant a lot to them. There was no set schedule, no deadlines to meet. If they started cooperating with the military, that would change. They, no, _he_ would be expected to provide results.

And, probably sooner than later, he would be sent to fight real Grimm again.

He knew this would happen. That was the whole point of him doing it. But if they kept ARES just to themselves, it could take a lot of time before he faced Grimm again.

He closed his eyes, recalling the events from two weeks ago. Red eyes bearing into his very soul. An open maw filled with razor sharp teeth, just a few centimeters away from his face.

And a sense of dread that kept him awake at night, and restless during the day for a few days after.

He remembered all of this, and then felt something bubble in his chest. It was a familiar feeling, something he experienced many times.

Anger.

Those stupid, mindless beasts though they could scare him? That he would back away just because he would have to put in more effort?

Jaune scoffed.

Like hell he would back away. If General Ironwood offered one of his Specialists to train him, who was he to refuse? So what if it would be though ,and almost certainly painful. He was used to it. So, for the first time that evening, Jaune met the General's eyes, his expression firm.

"Let's do it."

James smiled lightly and nodded.

"Very well." He got up, offering his hand to Gepetto. "I'd better get going. Arranging the whole thing will take a while, probably around a week."

Then he turned, and, to his surprise, extended his hand towards Jaune. The blond hesitated only for a second before taking it.

The General's handshake was short and firm.

"I'm looking forward to working with you, Jaune. And Penny too."

The blond looked surprised for a moment before smiling confidently.

"Likewise, General."

* * *

The next week passed in a blur. After the General's visit, both Gepetto and Jaune agreed that they needed to step up their game. Jaune's regular schedule didn't change much. Regular studies in the morning, then ARES related stuff in the afternoon. The only difference was that they now had a set schedule.

And, on Jaune's request, they included physical training in it.

As a result, the blond had precious little free time for himself, but he wasn't complaining. This was what he wanted after all. He no longer could afford to take it easy. Like his father used to say - if you seriously want something, you better be prepared to put some serious effort into getting it.

And Jaune was very serious.

He even suggested they cut down on his sleeping hours, but Gepetto was adamant that he get at least eight hours of rest.

"You are still technically recovering. Don't overdo it."

And after just the first day, Jaune had to admit it was a good idea. After he retreated to his room, he all but collapsed on his bed. He would have probably have fallen asleep then and there, if not for Penny's nagging that he shouldn't go to bed without washing himself first.

Thankfully, Penny didn't ask him to help her with designing… herself. Whether it was because she realized how exhausted he was, or because she no longer needed his input, he didn't know, but he was happy nonetheless.

Overall, things were going well, in Jaune's opinion. Piloting ARES was now as natural as breathing for him, it truly felt as if he and suit had become one. He was doing well in his studies too, Penny's little sleep-teaching was helping a lot.

But as the weeks passed, the blond couldn't help but feel frustrated - angry even. While studying and the development of ARES were going well, there was one thing that wasn't improving at all.

His stupid, weak, _broken_ body.

Oh, sure, in normal, everyday life there were no problems. He no longer needed a cane to walk, he could climb the stairs up to his room without much trouble, and often went for a walk around the house.

But he was still very, _pathetically,_ weak. Any form of exercise and his muscles were screaming in pain. His reflexes and coordination outside of suit were trash. One time they made him run through simple exercise - dodging balls thrown at him by Gepetto, Jaune had to focus so hard on not tripping over his own legs that he wasn't able to pay attention to the incoming projectiles.

And the one time when he tried to have some hand-to-hand practice with a training bot? It was the first time in a long time that he had cried - not from pain, but frustration.

He couldn't land a single hit, he couldn't dodge even a single hit - unless you count the one he avoided by virtue of tripping over his own legs. Even after the difficulty settings were set to a minimum.

It wasn't even that he couldn't see them coming.

He could.

Even without Penny's help, he could see the attacks coming. Even on the higher settings, as long as he used Aura to augment his sight, he could pick up miniature movements to predict how his opponent would attack him.

But, as usual, his own body held him back. Even if he saw a perfect opening, he just couldn't move fast enough to take advantage of it. Even if he saw an attack coming his way, and knew exactly how to dodge it, he couldn't move fast enough.

Forget fighting, he couldn't even run without falling flat on his face after just a few steps.

Gepetto assured him that his condition was very good, all things considered, that it could be considered a small miracle he can even walk.

Jaune knew it was true.

It didn't make it any less frustrating though.

Jaune shook his head, dispelling those thoughts. Today was a big day. Today they would meet the fifth member of the ARES team - even if they would be here only temporarily. Jaune wondered what kind of person they were. In his mind, he saw someone similar to the General - stoic, composed, radiating absolute authority.

Jaune looked around the living room, desperate for something to occupy his attention. How long would they have to wait? There were only so many hours in a day, and he needed to train. In fact, his physical rehabilitation should be starting in…an hour?

Jaune blinked a few times, staring at the clock mounted on the wall. Just to be sure, he pulled his scroll and checked the time again, before letting out a frustrated sigh. They'd been waiting not even five minutes. Great.

"Nervous?" Asked Arhtur.

"Yeah." Jaune answered with another sigh. Seriously, couldn't they hurry? He had a schedule to keep.

"By the way." Gepetto spoke, looking up from his scroll. "Do you know anything about this Specialist?"

Arthur just shook his head.

"Nothing. I've been really busy these past few weeks, and didn't have a chance to talk with Ironwood."

Gepetto raised his eyebrow.

"Something serious going on?"

"Not really. At least I don't think so. We had a spike of Grimm activity, and some bandit problems, but it was taken care of."

Gepetto looked like he wanted to say something more, but the distinctive sound of bullhead engines interrupted him.

"Well." He said, getting up. "It looks like our guest has arrived. Let's go greet them."

The three of them walked out, observing as the sleek, white aircraft landed in front of them. The ramp lowered,\ and doors opened, revealing a lone figure, clad in an Atlas military uniform.

Gepetto, froze, his whole fram going rigid, as he watched them walk down in slow, measured steps. The waves of intense emotion that erupted from the old scientist was enough for Jaune to wince.

He looked up at the old scientist, who didn't even try to hide his glare leveled at the approaching person. Confused, Jaune looked at his father, but Arthur's face was so stiff it may as well be made out of stone.

Jaune knew this face.

It was his 'oh, shit, we are done for' face.

Confused, he focused on the approaching person, who just walked down the ramp, and stopped a few steps in front of them. She was pretty, he decided, in a cold, elegant kind of way. Her every movement was measured and graceful, her blue eyes scanned three assembled men - thought really she focused more on Gepetto and Arthur, barely sparing any attention for Jaune.

Jaune wasn't sure if he actually saw her frown when she locked eyes with Gepetto, or it was just an intense feeling of displeasure and… disappointment? Annoyance? He wasn't sure which one he felt from the woman in front of him, but he knew full well what he felt from Gepetto.

It wasn't anything nice.

Eventually the woman turned towards his father and saluted.

"Sir." she said, her expression completely neutral. "Specialist Winter Schnee reporting for duty."

Jaune could practically hear his father scream inside.

* * *

**And that wraps it up. The last member of team ARES has appeared. I'm sure they will get along juuuuuuuust fine. Oh, and Jaune got himself a gun. Two even.**

**If you want a mental image of his new weapons, they are fairly simple. Jaune's main gun is just a big assault rifle, I didn't have any specific image in my head when describing it. The only thing I'm not sure I described properly are his wrist blades. Just google 'doom eternal wrist blade' to have an idea of what I had in mind. They also can bend at 90 degrees, forming hooks for easier climbing.**

**Lastly, I would like to talk about what was my inspiration for this fic. I see a lot of people bringing up Warframe and Halo in the reviews - and they are both correct answers. The idea with the implant was something I borrowed from the Halo series (I read somewhere that you need a special implant to operate the armors they use), as well as Penny appearing as miniature holographic assistant.**

**From Warframe - well, Jaune's suit looks pretty much like the Rhino warframe so there is that.**

**But none of those were what made me want to write this fic. No, they just give me ideas for certain elements. The 'true' inspiration for this fic was a game called Firefall. Unfortunately, it is long since dead, but I had a blast playing it when it was up and running. One day, I just accidentally stumbled upon a soundtrack from it on YT, and this idea just popped into my head.**

**Last one thing, unrelated to fic, but has anyone for you saw Baldur's Gate 3 reveal? What do you think? I personally think it looks really good.**

**It also caused me to remember I had D:OS 2 on my disc that I was neglecting, so I decided to jump in for a bit...and proceed to waste most of my weekend on it.**

**Anyway, that's it from me. See y'all later.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Welcome to ch 14. **_***looks around***_ **Anybody still here?**

* * *

Jaune hit the floor hard, let out a loud groan, and tried to get up. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, trying to convince him that moving right now was a bad idea - even though his brain insisted that it was the _best _idea.

Eventually his body won the argument, and the blond collapsed, gasping for air.

"Get up." His least favorite person in the world commanded.

Jaune ignored her completely, instead focusing on trying to put as much air into his lungs as he could.

"Don't tell me you're done after just that?"

He didn't, mostly because speaking would require expelling air from his lungs, something he was not willing to do at this moment. That, and he was sure that it was pretty obvious that yes, he indeed was done after just that.

He rolled on his back, looking briefly at Winter, before quickly turning his face away. He simply couldn't bear to look at her. Her face, as if carved from stone, her cold, judging eyes, it was too much for him. He didn't have high expectations when, the day after she arrived, Winter announced they would begin his training immediately.

He thought he knew what to expect - harsh, painful training, with a hearty dose of humiliation. But he had some small hope that he might, somehow, impress his new instructor. Or at least not disappoint her completely. He was fully aware of fact he was pathetically weak, but then again, he was still technically a cripple. That had to count for something, right?

Apparently, it didn't.

At least not to Winter Schnee. Their first training session didn't even last ten minutes before Jaune collapsed, unable to move. He had expected it. He was prepared for it.

But it made it no less frustrating.

But even with aching muscles and out of breath it wasn't physical pain that was the worst - he was used to it. Now, the worst thing about this whole thing was Winter. It wasn't anything she said - in fact she barely spoke to him. The only sign of emotion from her was a slight frown, that only deepened as their training continued.

Jaune finally managed to stand up, though his wobbly legs could barely hold him.

Winter's frown deepened.

"How… underwhelming."

The blond winced. It was the first time she voiced her opinion on him, and while he expected to hear it, it still hurt. He steadied himself, but didn't look up. He simply couldn't bear to look at her cold, dismissive face. He didn't want to see disdain in her eyes.

It was enough that he could feel it with his Semblance.

A weightless hand landed on his shoulder, and Jaune shot a quick smile towards Penny. She was doing her best to cheer him up, but there was little she could do.

Winter sighed, looking him up and down.

"Your display today was beyond pathetic. Are you doing it on purpose?"

Jaune clenched his hand, angry tears swelling in his eyes. Of course he wasn't! He was giving his all, and was willing to give even more.

But his stupid, broken body just couldn't keep up.

"You may not realize it, but this is not a game. You will be expected to fight in real battles, sooner rather than later. This… suit may compensate for your lack of skill..."

Jaune just clenched his teeth. He knew it, he'd had his first taste of fight, and he knew full well he wasn't good enough.

"But it's not just about you. In the future, the lives of other people may depend on you."

He knew that too. He still remembered the time in the clinic, his constant panic about what would happen if he messed up.

"If you don't intend to take it seriously, stop wasting everyone's time, and quit. As for us, we are done for today. You can go and fool around by yourself."

… _what did she just say?_

Jaune's head slowly rose, eyes glued to the retreating form of his instructor.

_What the hell had she just said?_

His hands started trembling, for once not from pain or exhaustion.

This woman just barged here out of nowhere, and she dared to accuse _him _of not treating this project seriously? ARES was everything to him - it was his one and only chance to achieve something great in his life. That alone would guarantee he would treat it seriously, but on top of that, it was also helping Penny. He gave his all to make it work, he risked his health, his future - hell, even his life for this project. And this… this… this _bitch _dared to suggest he didn't take it seriously?

"How dare you…" he uttered through clenched teeth. It wasn't loud, but apparently loud enough for WInter to hear, because she paused.

"Have something to say?" she asked without even looking at him.

"How dare you." he said before he could stop himself. Winter turned to look at him, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"How dare you say that." he repeated.

"I'm merely stating the truth. If you really treated this seriously, I'd imagine you would put _some_ effort into it." She eyed him without even trying to hide her disdain.

"I do!"

Winter scoffed.

"You call this 'effort'? We are doing basic exercises, something any normal person should be able to do. And yet you…" whatever Winter wanted to say, she stopped herself when the doors to their training room opened, and Geppetto walked in. He took one look at the downed teenager, sighed and shook his head.

"I believe I told you to take it easy, _specialist._" He said, not even looking at Winter. The white haired woman scoffed, crossing arms over her chest.

"I was. But he obviously doesn't feel like putting any effort into this."

"Oh really?" Gepetto walked up to Jaune, and helped him get up. "Maybe you are just incapable of adjusting your training methods to suit your student."

Winter just scoffed and turned around leaving the room.

"Schnees." Gepetto spat, shaking his head. "Never even consider the possibility they might be in the wrong."

Jaune let out a tired sigh.

"But she wasn't really wrong. We weren't even doing anything crazy, I just can't keep up. Even when all I try to do is run around, I'm starting to trip over my own legs."

"Jaune, look at me." Gepetto said, placing his hands on the blond's shoulders. He waited for a few moments, but Jaune's eyes remained fixated on the floor. "You are doing fine. In fact, you are doing far better than anyone has any right to expect of you. I'll be honest with you, I never expected you to be able to walk, even with those implants."

The blond's head shot upwards, his eyes wide in shock.

"Oh, I was certain that you would regain _some_ mobility, but I thought that at best, it will be at the level where you might be able to live on your own, but would still be tied to a wheelchair."

The blond just continued to stare at the old scientist.

"The progress you've made in such a short time is astonishing. Honestly, I'm still amazed how far you've come. And even before that. Your Aura control is excellent, far above anyone your age should have. The way you can augment your senses is amazing. And you achieved it all while being completely paralized. Most people in your situation would just give up, but you kept fighting. So don't let one entitled bitch bring you down. She knows nothing about you, and has no right to judge you."

Jaune blushed and looked away. Partially because of the praise he'd received.

Partially because he wasn't used to swearing, and his parents taught him to respect his elders. Sure, he himself often called Winter less than respectful things, but it was always in his head. Hearing Gepetto insult her out loud, and so casually at that, left him uncertain how to act.

"T-thank you, Doctor."

Gepetto nodded, apparently pleased with himself.

"We can cancel those training sessions if you want. I'll have to talk with your father, and we can…"

"No." Jaune stated firmly. "I want to continue. If only to prove her wrong."

Gepetto watched him for a few more moments before nodding.

"Very well. For now, come to the laboratory. You said you tripped over your legs? There might be an issue with signal transmission between the main implant and your lover body. Let's check it out."

* * *

Winter wasn't having a good week.

At first she was happy when Ironwood summoned her and informed her he had a task for her. The injury she suffered on her last mission had long since healed, but for some reason doctors insisted she take at least two weeks off active duty.

All the enthusiasm she had evaporated when she learned what the mission would be.

Working with Gepetto Polendina on some kind of secret project was _not_ something she was looking forward to. Not because she thought it would be boring, or unnecessary, especially when she learned what exactly the old scientist is working on.

The problem was the man himself - and his well known dislike for the Schnees, and everyone associated with them.

She didn't know why he hated her family so much. Her own father never spoke about it, nor did her mother. And now she was stuck with the man, in some old cabin in the middle of nowhere for the foreseeable future.

Oh, and there was the brat too. She had to admit she was surprised when she learned he not only was part of the project, but he was the one operating the suit. And even more surprised when Gepetto requested she train him. The old scientist looked like it physically hurt him to ask her for the favor, and she briefly considered refusing just to spite him.

But then she realized he would probably be happy if she refused, and training someone would give her something to do. She didn't have high expectations, especially when Gepetto informed her her new student has no formal combat training, and that he has some health issues...and she should take it easy.

But what happened during their first training session had her blood boling. It had to be some kind of sick joke, she was certain of it. There was no way her 'student' was _that_ bad. She left the room, after letting him know just what she thought about his performance.

It surprised her a little the next day he showed up again, with a look of determination on his face. But their training, if it could even be called that, went about as well as the first time. It took all self control she had to not just leave the room.

But then the next day came, and her new charge showed up again. As he did on the next day, and the day after that.

Finally, WInter was forced to admit that she might have misjudged him. There was simply no way the boy would put in so much effort, and go through so much pain just to piss her off.

It was then that she realized just how little she knew about him. She didn't know how, or why he became part of the ARES, why he was the one piloting the suit even though he obviously had no combat experience, what those 'health issues' Gepetto had mentioned once or twice were.

Hell, she didn't even know his name.

Of course, it wouldn't be too hard to fix that. All she needed to do was ask Gepetto. Easy.

Or rather, it would be if mere thought of asking the buffon for anything wouldn't make her physically ill.

She considered calling General Ironwood, but that would be silly. Arthur Arc was another option, but was currently unavailable, out on an extended recon mission. Sure, she could wait for him to return, but it could take several days, maybe even weeks. She couldn't afford to wait that long.

Winter sighed. There were no other options, she had to do it.

Taking a deep breath to help her steel her resolve, she raised her hand and knocked on the wooden doors in front of her.

"Come in."

With just the slightest moment of hesitation she entered Gepetto's office. The old scientist was staring at a screen fixed to his desk, which was almost completely covered in papers.

"How can I help you, Specialist?" he asked without even looking at her.

"What are the 'health issues' you mentioned he suffers from?"

Gepetto didn't answer at first, completely focused on the terminal in front of him.

"Why ask now?" he finally asked, still not looking at Winter.

"Because I can't possibly adjust his training regime if I don't know what his limits are. I thought he might be sick, or suffering from some lingering injuries, but this kid can barely walk on his own."

Gepetto sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Yes, that was… unexpected. He showed remarkable good results in his rehabilitation so far, but considering his current state, combat training might be too much for him right now."

He paused again, staring intently at his terminal, before angrily shaking his head.

"Take a seat." he said, finally looking at Winter.

"I want to make something clear, Specialist. I don't trust you. I don't want you involved in this project. If I get a chance to get you removed from it, I'll take it. I was certain your training regime will push Jaune to resign on his own, giving me pretext to lessen your involvement, but I guess I underestimated his resolve."

Winter shifted in her chair. She certainly didn't expect such a frank admission from Gepetto, but at least she now knew the name of her student.

"And as much as I would love to blame the worsening of his condition on you, my pride as a scientist and doctor will not allow me to." he sighed.

Winter felt her eyebrow twitching. This damned old man, he could at least pretend he hadn't consider it.

"How nice of you." she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You are welcome." Gepetto answered with a small smile. Winter chose to ignore it.

"But you don't need to be a genius to figure that sending a kid that can barely walk to combat training is a bad idea. So why did you do it?"

Gepetto sighed.

"And I wouldn't, but up until recently he was mostly fine. Me and Arthur discussed it for a long time, and came to the conclusion that some real-life training would do him good, even if his physical condition isn't the best. After all, we never intended for him to fight without the suit. And I'm sure I don't have to tell you that physical fitness is not the only thing needed to be a good fighter."

Winter nodded. Critical thinking, analyzing opponent, footwork, muscle memory. You needed to train both body and mind. Dumb brutes that relied only on their strength usually died first.

"The worst thing is, I'm still unable to determine what exactly is wrong with him. All the tests I ran show nothing out of ordinary." Gepetto added with a frown. He sighed again, and then frowned when his scroll started ringing.

"My apologies." he said after looking at the device, his frown only deepening. "I have to pick that one up. Yes? What? No I didn't… WHAT?! When did this happen? And you inform me only now?! Oh, for the love of… All right, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Gepetto ended the call, grabbed a large bag sitting next to his desk, and started stuffing various papers and devices inside.

"Unfortunately, we will have to end our chat here. There is an emergency in one of my clinics, I had to go. I'll send Jaune's medical files to your scroll. You can continue training him while I'm away, but don't start any tests with the suit."

Winter scoffed. She didn't even see the damn thing ever since she arrived here, nor had any idea where it was stored.

Gepetto grabbed the now full bag and rushe towards the doors. He paused just before leaving, and slowly turned toward his guest.

"I'll be out for three, four days, unless something unexpected happens. You don't have to worry about Jaune too much, he can take care of himself. But if something happens to him, you are to call me immediately. Out of all people involved in the project ARES, he is possibly most important."

"What?" Winter asked before she could stop herself.

"Oh, it's quite simple." said Gepetto, already at the door. "He is the only one who can use the damn thing. WIthout him, it's just a very expensive toy."

Winter hummed. Now that was interesting. With a sigh, she got up and left Gepetto's office, checking her scroll when it signalled a new message. She raised an eyebrow. Looks like Gepetto kept his word, and sent Jaune's whole medical history to her scroll. Judging by the size of the file, she would have a lot to read through.

* * *

_Thunk._

_Thunk._

_Thunk._

Winter watched her student, as he repeatedly struck a training dummy with his practice sword. He was… decent. From what she could see, about four out of ten strikes were clean, but he was improving.

Of course just standing there hitting an unmoving target was far from what actual combat looked like. She closed her eyes briefly, recalling what she'd learned the previous day.

Five years. Five years spent hospitalized due to complete paralysis. She couldn't even begin to imagine how that must have felt - day after day just lying in the hospital bed, unable to move even a single finger. The files she received form Gepetto were, to her surprise, extremely detailed. She was not a doctor, so most of it was just gibberish to her, but the photos included made her stare in shock. Even she could easily say that with the state of his spine, the mere fact he was still alive was a surprise.

The fact that he could now walk on his own?

She let out a tired sigh. There was a lot to say about Gepetto, but the fact he could achieve something like that only proved he was a genius.

Or miracle-worker.

Possibly both.

Winter sighed and focused back on her student. He paused for a moment to catch his breath, his sweat-drenched shirt laid on the floor, discarded a while ago. Now that she knew what to look for, it was easy to spot several small scars along his spine and on his arms. As well as a metal plate at the back of his head.

How was she supposed to teach fighting to someone with that kind of injury? She had no idea how durable those implants were. How much force they could take before breaking? Would it be possible to replace them? How much risk would such a procedure have? From what she understood, they were powered by Jaune's Aura - did that mean that if he ran out of it, he would collapse, completely paralized? Would they restart when his Aura regenerated?

Winter shook her head. Too many questions, too many risks. That's why, for the time being she decided to refrain from any sparring, only teaching Jaune proper form. Of course, that could be a waste of time too, since she had no idea how well ARES suits could imitate human movement.

She glanced at her student again. His strikes were slower now, less precise.

"Allright, take a break." she said.

He stopped to look at her, then without a word collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. Winter shook her head and threw a bottle of water at him. It hit his chest, and rolled to the side, the blond letting out a low groan.

"You did well." Winter said.

Jaune didn't answer at first, only raised his head a little to look at her.

"You said something completely different a few days ago." he pointed out.

Winter fought to hide an irritated scowl.

"I did. And while your performance in our first sparring was… below average, I may have been a bit too harsh in my evaluation. Since then I was made aware of your… unique condition, and as such I had to adjust your training regime, as well as standards by which I'll be judging you in the future."

"You mean, you are going easy on me because I'm a cripple?"

"More or less." she answered watching his face carefully. Jaune's expression remained calm. There was no anger, or hurt, just acceptance. Winter's raised eyebrow, a small, approving smile forming on her lips. It looked like his condition was not a touchy subject to be avoided.

Good.

"While stationary training like that is not something I would normally advise, the fact you cannot move properly leaves us little choice. That being said, proper blade alignment is extremely important in sword fighting, so it's not like we are wasting time. Even if we tried to train properly, I doubt you would be able to achieve good results."

"Thanks, that really made me feel better." Jaune mumbled, voice thick with sarcasm.

"Another problem is that I don't know what this suit is capable of, so learning more advanced techniques is pointless, if you won't be able to perform them in the combat scenarios." Winter continued, ignoring Jaune completely. "We will focus on the basics that will give you a foundation that will, hopefully, allow you to adjust to any limitations the suit will place on you. On top of that, Doctor Polendina made me aware of the fact that your physical condition has little to no effect on the suit's performance. Since you won't be expected to fight without it, teaching you to strike properly, and training your reflexes is more important than physical conditioning."

"You know, if you feel sorry about what you said earlier, you could just say it…"

Winter paused, and sucked in a sharp breath.

_This little brat…_

Jaune titled his head to the side.

"Are you… Wait, don't tell me you are one of those people that have trouble apologizing, and then get super annoyed when someone realizes they feel sorry and point it out?"

Winter felt her eyebrow start to twitch.

Jaune blinked.

"Oh damn, you _are _one of those people."

Winter smiled.

Jaune paled.

"Wait, I didn't mean anything bad by it! I think…"

"One second thought." Winter interrupted him, still smiling. "I think _some_ exercise will do you good. Let's start easy. How about… two laps around the house?"

Jaune chuckled nervously.

"Wait, let's be reasonable about this. You do realize I'll probably fall on my face after just a few steps, right?"

Winter's sabre left her sheath.

"Alternatively, we can spar."

Jaune sighed.

"Just let me grab some clothes. Unless you want me to run half naked?"

Winter didn't dignify this question with an answer.

* * *

Despite his complaining, Jaune managed to make two laps around Gepetto's house without falling even once. He tripped a few times, but managed to catch himself just in time. Of course, just because he could move his legs normally didn't change fact he was terribly out of shape. Winter didn't look too impressed when he all but collapsed in front of her - this time from exhaustion, not because his legs refused to work properly.

"Get up, you will catch a cold if you lie in the snow like that."

Jaune just groaned, and pushed himself up. Winter looked him over and scoffed.

"Well, I guess this is as much as I can expect from you. Go wash yourself and rest, we are done for today."

Jaune sighed. Would it kill her to be nicer? At first he thought Winter was just a… not very nice woman. The disdain and casual disregard for the effort he put into training really hurt, and the only reason he kept coming to these training sessions was to prove her wrong.

Or annoy her enough that she decided to leave project ARES on her own.

It hurt only a little bit that he knew the chances for the latter happening were infinitely higher than for the former.

However, something must have changed. Judging by her own words, Winter at hadn't been aware of his condition, which was the main reason behind her attitude. He supposed it made sense from her perspective.

He was just happy she no longer looked at him like the mere fact he was breathing the same air as her was a personal insult.

Or at least she didn't _feel_ like that. Why the Specialist was insistent on acting all cold and unapproachable, Jaune didn't know, and didn't really care.

He paused, only now realising he was so lost in thought he reached his room without even noticing. With a tired sigh Jaune entered, made a single step towards the bathroom, then decided dhe si too tired for that and collapsed on his bed.

_I know I should wash myself first. _He thought, eyes closed. _But I can do it later. For now, let's see what crazy new adventure Penny has prepared._

* * *

Jaune spun, practically showing his double-barreled shotgun into the mouth of a strange monster that tried to rip his head off. With a maniacal smile he pulled the trigger, giggling happily as monstrosity exploded in the fountain of blood, gore, and ammon and health pickups.

"You were right, Penny!" he shouted, switching the now empty weapon to a four-barreled, full auto grenade launcher. "There is no better way to relax than killing hordes of mindless monsters!"

"I'm glad you like it, Friend Jaune!" She answered happily, lifting her own weapon - an enormous chainsaw sword, at least four times as big as her, and looking at him with a bright smile.

Jaune finished clearing the last stragglers, and turned to his friend.

"So, what's next on the menu?"

Penny tilted her head, tapping her mouth with her index finger.

"Since we cleared nine waves already, I think it would be only fitting to have a boss encounter. Or we could spar a little, or run through some combat scenarios." She hummed, then shrugged. "Alternatively, you could wake up and assure Specialist Winter that you do not require immediate medical attention."

Jaune blinked.

"Why would she think I need one?" he asked, only a little suspicious. Penny was great, and he knew she wouldn't harm him, but she also lacked a bit in terms of common sense.

"As you know, The Room is basily interactive dream, and as such,each time you enter it, your vitals are lowered. On top of that, I disabled your motor functions, to prevent you from moving around when we pla… I mean, perform those exercises."

Jaune nodded. This sounded reasonable so far.

"It appears that Specialist Schnee entered your room after you failed to respond to her calling you for dinner she prepared." Penny continued happily. "Upon entering your room, she noticed your motionless, unresponsive body, and apparently came to the conclusion you had a heart stroke. She was performing CPR for the last two minutes."

Jaune face palmed.

"And why didn't you tell me sooner!?"

Penny deflated.

"I-I just didn't want to interrupt your fun. You were working so hard lately, I just wanted you to relax a bit." she sniffed, head hung low. "I'm sorry."

_Aaaand now I feel like a jerk._

"It's all right." he said, patting Penny's head. "Just… next time inform me about things like that immediately, ok?"

Penny nodded.

Jaune took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He hoped Winter wasn't too angry.

* * *

Winter was on the verge of panic.

One day.

Gepetto was gone for one day, and she already managed to give Jaune a heart attack.

Or put him in a coma.

She wasn't sure which one was worse.

_No. Calm down. It's impossible that this is your fault. It had to be something else._

Her own thoughts failed to calm her down, as she finished another set of chest compressions, and moved to perform mouth-to-mouth.

It was then that Jaune's eyes popped open, staring into her own for a second before widening in shock.

"Whaaaaaaa!" He screamed.

She, of course, didn't do anything so undignified.

"Are you alright?" She asked, looking him over. She supposed if he could scream like that, he was, but she preferred to make sure.

"Yeah, I'm fine." he muttered, massaging his chest. "But damn, you didn't have to press so hard. My whole chest hurts."

Winter felt her eyebrow start to twitch.

"Oh really? Sure, next time when I see you having a stroke I'll be sure to be more considerate of your ribs."

Jaune rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, yeah. About that. That wasn't a stroke."

Winter glared at him.

"Jaune, you laid on your bed, unmoving, unresponsive, and with barely noticeable pulse. If it wasn't a stroke then what was that?"

The blond opened his mouth to answer, then closed, considering something for a few moments, then looked up at her with an innocent smile.

"Me taking a nap?"

Winter took a deep breath, turned around and left.

If she stayed in that room for even a second longer, she couldn't be held responsible for what happened.

* * *

**So, yeah.**

**Hello again. I'm super late with this chapter, I know. I won't be making any excuses, life was just a bit crazy lately for me, and let's leave it at that. I really would love to say that I'm back to regular updates, but, unfortunately, I can't. I try my best, but I can't make any promises.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Welcome to ch 15.**

* * *

"_Ah, yes, this happens all the time. There is nothing to be worried about."_

Winter gripped her scroll tighter, the device cracking onimusly.

"What do you mean 'it happens all the time'?! Gepetto, he was…"

"_I know." _The old scientist interrupted her. "_And I assure you there is nothing to be worried about. He does it all the time for several months now. If there were any risk for his health, I would have told him to stop long ago."_

Winter took several deep breaths to calm herself. So it appeared that her new student wasn't susceptible to random heart attacks.

Instead, any time he wanted, he could enter a sleep-like state that made him completely unresponsive.

"So, it's something he does on his own? It doesn't happen randomly?"

"_As far as I can tell, no. Judging by the tests I ran, as well as his own reports, one could say that it's him having an interactive dream."_

"Alright, I get it. But seriously, you could have told me. Or at least included this little tidbit of information in those files you sent me."

"_I suppose I could have."_ Gepetto said, humming. "_But I decided against it. Not because I'd prefer you know only what you absolutely need to. Well, not only because of that."_

Winter fought to keep her anger from showing. That was what this old buffon wanted, and she will not give him the satisfaction.

"_The real reason this time is that it's related to his Semblance. And a certain other project, that is not related to ARES, and as such should be of no interest to you."_

Winter took a deep breath. All right. That kind of made sense. Of course, there was still the issue of how she should act if she ever found herself in a similar situation again. If she did nothing, and Jaune was in need of help, it could lead to tragedy.

"_I suppose I could send applications monitoring his vitals at your scroll." _Gepetto said when she voiced her concerns. "_But for now, I must go. I should be back the day after tomorrow, so hopefully you manage to not kill him until then. Tall task, I know, but I believe in you."_

With that, Gepetto ended the call. Winter just stared at the black screen, fighting the urge to smash the device against the wall.

_All right. Calm down. _

It was about time for her training session with Jaune, and it wouldn't do to show any irritation in front of her student. She took a moment to make sure her uniform was in perfect condition before leaving her room, already planning out today's training session.

But as she approached the training room, one annoying thought kept returning, demanding her attention.

Just what kind of Semblance would make you go into a coma?

* * *

S\The soft click and hiss of pneumatic servers told Jaune that his examination was over. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking to clear his vision.

"So, how does it look?" he asked, patiently waiting as Gepetto unplugged him from the strange device he brought back from his trip back to civilization.

"Pretty good. I didn't detect any abnormalities." Gepetto smiled at him. "We can begin whenever you are ready."

The blond smiled.

"Penny?"

His friend popped into existence right next to him, her grin mirroring his.

"**I'm combat ready!"**

* * *

After Gepetto finished performing his morning check ups on Jaune, all three of them flowed into the living room. Winter assumed it was to have breakfast, and maybe discuss plans for future ARES tests.

It was to her surprise, when part of the floor, as well as the table and chairs they were sitting at started moving down, revealing a large room under Gepetto's house. How the hell he managed to build it, she didn't know, but that wasn't important.

What was important was the ARES suit sitting near one of the walls. She read the reports, but seeing it in person was a whole other thing. It was large, but not enormous, with proportion closely resembling humans. Much more bulky than any droid she ever seen - which made sense considering a person had to fit inside. Its arms, torso, and legs were covered in some kind of armor, but closer inspection proved it was attached to the suit, rather being part of it.

Curiously, she placed a hand on it and raised an eyebrow in surprise. The suit was warm to the touch, and slightly elastic. If she pushed harder, it bent a bit under her fingers before she felt any resistance.

Whatever materials Gepetto used to make that thing, certainly wasn't metal.

Aura Fibers, she recalled. Apparently the same material that was used to make Jaune's implants.

She hummed, looking suit over. Kneeling, with its head hung low and arms hanging freely at its sides, it looked like a puppet, waiting for the puppeteer to bring it to life. She circled around it, her eyes narrowing. The suit was obviously one piece and unless she was missing something, there was no way to take it apart, and put on like one would armor. She also couldn't spot any hatch or opening for Jaune to use to get inside the suit.

_Is it remotely controlled? _She wondered, stepping back.

She shrugged, and turned towards the other two people in the room. Jaune and Gepetto were talking about something, the former dressed in body fitting, black costume, the latter in his white coat.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do about it." she heard Gepetto say, as they came close. "But for now, hop in and let's get this show on the road."

Jaune didn't need to be told twice. He all but ran up to suit, ignoring Winter altogether.

The Specialist watched with curiosity as he placed his hand on its back. For a moment nothing happened, but then the suit's surface rippled and started slowly peeling off. Winter watched with shock as Jaune basically walked _into_ suit, which immediately started wrapping around the teen. A few moments later, it was sealed shut, with no trace of an opening.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Winter didn't answer, or made any gesture indicating she'd even heard Gepetto speak.

"Aura fibers are a truly wonderful material. Extremely adaptable, they can be used to make just about anything. On top of that, if properly processed, individuals with sufficient Aura control can alter their properties, to a degree. They can be hardened, or brought to an almost liquid-like state...as you just saw."

"Isn't it also a weakness? If the enemy could soften up a suit during combat, it could prove fatal." She asked.

"Technically, yes." Gepetto admitted easily, fixing his glasses. "Practically? Well, not really. Manipulating Aura fibers is a rather complex process, requiring immense concentration, direct contact with the suit for a prolonged period of time and excellent Aura control. Even if someone was able to pull it off, it would affect only a limited area, and as soon as they stopped channeling their Aura, it would return to its original state." Gepetto sent her a smug smile. "And all of that assuming said individual would even know something like that is possible. Because I assure you, the properties of Aura Fibers are not common knowledge."

"Interesting." She said dismissively. It did sound impressive, but until she saw the suit in action, she would withhold her judgment.

Plus, she'd rather die than give any praise to this old buffon.

"Speaking of the suit - why isn't he moving?"

"Oh, it takes some time to activate, usually around thirty, to fifty seconds."

Winter hummed. Another weakness, but then again, one wouldn't try putting it on in the middle of combat.

"So, what are your plans for today's test?"

"I was thinking about combat practice. Specifically, simulating fighting against a hunter-level threat."

Winter raised a single eyebrow.

"You want me to fight it?"

"Yes." Gepetto fixed his glasses. "So far all our tests were performed either in VR, or against combat drones, and I'm sure you know they don't make for the most challenging opponents. Too constrained, too predictable. We have enough data for general combat performance, and I would like to see how this iteration performs against experienced hunters. As a bonus, it will give you an opportunity to make yourself useful, for once."

"How generous of you." She snarked, drawing her saber.

Truth to be told, she was curious to see what this suit was capable of, and the chance to have a proper fight excited her. Of course, she would sooner die than to admit any of that to Gepetto.

Gepetto didn't answer, instead turning around and heading to the doors on the other side of the hall, leaving Winter to wait for the suit to activate.

It didn't take long. Just a few seconds after Gepetto left the hall, ARES stirred, and slowly stood up. Winter observed with rising interest as Jaune flexed his fingers, then rolled his shoulders before finally, to her surprise, starting to stretch.

"Is that necessary?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Jaune paused, looking at her for a few seconds. Only now Winter realized she didn't know if he could speak aloud in that thing.

"No." he said finally. His voice was distorted, it had a strange echo to it and a certain metallic tone. If she didn't know who exactly was inside, she doubted she could recognize it from the voice alone.

"But it helps to stabilize the connection." he said, finishing his stretching and facing her fully. Winter hummed looking him over. There was still much she didn't know about ARES, but just watching Jaune move around made her realize two things.

One, it was far more agile than any machine she'd ever seen. It looked like it had the same range of motion as a human, and on top of that its movement was very fluid. If she saw it moving around, and didn't know any better, she might just assume it was a large human in full body armor.

Another thing was just how silent it was. Despite its size, it moved silently, its footspes barely audible. And there was none of the usual noise that accompanied droids she was used to.

"Alright Doc, how are we gonna do this?" Jaune asked aloud.

"_A regular spar should do for now. Jaune, no guns. Specialist, please keep in mind we are here to test suit's capability. Don't go all out from the beginning."_

Winter just nodded, taking her stance. She had to admit, despite herself she was a little excited. Jaune was a cripple, barely able to move on his own. What was he capable of with the help of ARES?

"Alright Jaune, you can begin whenever you are ready." Winter said, before diving to the side, narrowly avoiding a fist aimed at her head.

_Ok, so he is much faster than he looks._

The Specialist ducked under another punch, slashing at her opponent. Her saber slid harmless off his armored chest, forcing her to jump back to avoid being grabbed. A massive fist sailed towards her face, and she dodged again.

_Better than I thought…_

It hurt her to admit it, but this ARES suit was truly amazing. Even though she managed to dodge all of its attacks so far, just from wind pressure she felt from every punch she could get a vague estimate of how much power they were carrying. And even though she was tempted to try and parry one of them to get a better feel of suit's strength, she discarded the idea.

She read reports of the attack on Gepetto's clinic, she saw pictures of the room where the fight against Jackal took place. She knew full well that the Faunus was incapable of such destruction. If Jaune could shatter concrete walls in what was the first, and still incomplete iteration, she would rather not find out what the newest model could do to her body, Aura or no.

_It's quite fast. And nimble for its size._

She ducked under another punch, slashing at the armpit of his extended hand.

_It's also rather tough. Even areas not protected by armor are hard to cut._

So far Jaune was doing a decent job trying to protect - she assumed - the more vulnerable areas, but he didn't let her pressure him into abadonding offense. His armor did a good job at protecting him, and he took full advantage of that, trying to catch incoming attacks on his armored torso or arms, and throw quick counters.

Winter smirked, and summoned her glyphs.

It was time to crank things up a bit.

_"All right, that's enough for now."_ Gepetto's voice filled the hall. Winter, who was about to dash at Jaune, stumbled a little, and glared towards darkened glass panels separating the observation room from the rest of the hall.

_"Jaune, you take some rest. Specialist, please join me in the observation room."_

Winter sighed and sheathed her weapon, heading towards the small room. She wondered if it was something serious, or Gepetto simply wanted to piss her off.

Again.

* * *

Jaune took a deep breath, and slowly let it go.

Winter was good. Jackal had nothing on her. He had no illusion about how his fight against her would go, but it still surprised him just how powerful she was.

And she wasn't even going all out. Hell, she was barely even trying. Normally, there would be no chance for amater like him to land even a single blow on her, but thankfully he had his secret weapon.

"How'd it go, Penny?"

"**I finished analyzing Specialist's Winter attack patterns. Currently updating Fight Assistance System."**

Now, someone might have argued that getting help from his digital friend was cheating, or that, since it was a test, it might make the data collected less valuable. Well, in Jaune's opinion, if you weren't prepared to cheat, it meant you simply weren't taking it seriously. And Gepetto never specifically said he _couldn't_ use Penny's help, so, as far as he was concerned, everything was ok.

"Just out of curiosity, what are our chances of actually beating her?" Jaune asked.

"**Assuming Specialist Schnee sticks to current test's settings, I estimate our chance of victory at 23.334%. A successful preemptive strike would offer the best chance of success. If it failed, our only chance would be to hope she will make some significant mistake."**

Jaune sighed.

"Not sure why I'm even asking, but what if she went all out from the start?"

"**Approximately 1.102%." **Penny announced happily "**Even ignoring her superior speed and skill, she has multiple ways to control the battlefield with both her Glyphs and Dust. Not to mention her superior aerial mobility."**

Jaune blinked, surprised.

"Wait, she can fly?!"

"**No. But she can use her glyphs as a platforms to move mid-air."**

Jaune tsked.

"Talk about overpowered." he hummed, thinking for a moment. "Do you think it would be possible to make the suit fly?"

"**I'm not sure, but I'll forward this idea to Father."**

"Good. Well, looks like break time is over." he said, spotting Winter marching towards them. "You ready, Penny?"

"**Always."**

Jaune grinned.

"Then let's do this."

* * *

Winter cursed, raising her saber to deflect the blade aimed at her face. She knew it was a bad idea, but off-balance as she was it was her only option. She tried to retract her blade as soon as she could, but Jaune was faster. His wrist blade bent, forming a simple hook, and then retracted, temporarily locking her weapon between the bent blade and its case.

Cursing again, Winter dove, avoiding a punch sailing towards her face, then twisted out of the way of the knee aimed at her stomach. The sound of something metallic impacting the floor was music to her ears, and she wasted no time diving under the suits arm to retrieve her weapon. As soon as she did, a white glyph shimmered under her feet, propelling her forward in what was more of a rough tumble than graceful dash - but her main priority was to not be hit, not look pretty. When she regained her footing, she instantly turned towards her opponent. Their eyes met - or at least she assumed they did, it's not like the suit's helmet had any eye slits - and she could practically _feel_ his urge to chase her.

But instead, Jaune took a few steps back, towards the corner of the room, bent his knees and raised his arms. Winter scoffed, summoning another glyph, the plan for another assault already forming in her head.

It would be much easier if she could go all out, but Geptto insisted she refrain from using her summons. "See if you can overwhelm him with speed alone. I want to see if his reaction times in real combat can match the records from simulations."

So that was what she was doing for the past… she didn't even know. They would fight for several minutes, then Gepetto would call a short break and they would go at it again - but this time she would go faster. Rinse and repeat, over and over again. It wasn't that hard, the only challenge was to keep up the constant speed and stop herself from using her Glyphs.

_It's not a fight. It's a test. Follow instructions. _

Again, it wasn't hard, but monotonous. Sure, from time to time Jaune managed to pull off some trick that caught her off-guard, but that was about it.

It was so bad that, to her surprise, she realized she was getting bored and that was not something she expected to experience while fighting an Aura powered suit of ultra high-tech armor.

"_Alright, that will be enough."_

Winter relaxed, and let out a small sigh of relief. She never expected to actually be happy to hear the voice of the old man but apparently today was a day of firsts.

"_Thank you for your hard work. Jaune, After you get out of the suit and wash yourself, I want you to go to the lab, we will run a full check up. Winter, a moment of your time, please."_

She waited patiently as Geppetto left the observation room, exchanged a few words with Jaune, and started heading her way.

"So, what do you think about the suit?"

Winter hummed. It was tempting to just criticize it, but Gepetto probably wouldn't be bothered by it. Probably not worth the effort.

"It's hard to give a proper evaluation after just a few fights, especially restricted like that, and with no base to compare it to. It's combat capabilities are far above any droid we have, they simply can't be compared. I must ask, does it performance is in any way dependent on pilot's… Operator's physical conditions?"

"Very little. Mental condition is much more important. Specifically, Aura control and ability to remain calm."

"Interesting. Well, like I said, a suit is certainly impressive. Fast, strong, and durable. It's hard for me to point out any flaws. If I had to pick something, I would say that it's point of balance seems to be rather high, that might make it easy to topple it over."

"If it would go against the average hunter, how do you think such a fight would go?"

"With Jaune piloting it? Hard to tell. It would depend on what weapon said hunter was using, their Semblance and so on. It's far faster and mobile than its size would suggest, so I guess there is a good chance for him to catch his opponent off-guard. With how strong this suit is, he shouldn't have much problem restraining your average hunter with pure mass and strength. However, if the first attack were to fail, it would get tricky. He would still have the advantage of better protection and based on the files you send me, and in my own experience, most regular weapons would do little damage to it. People with mobility, or strength based Semblances would be the worst matchup for him."

"Speaking of Jaune, how did he perform?"

"Better than I expected." Winter said after a second of consideration. "Not much skill to speak off, but he was calm, and adapted quickly. He seems to actually know how to fight, but has trouble actually implementing this knowledge. I guess it's the result of training mostly in simulations?"

Gepetto nodded.

"I think so too. I was hoping practice against droids will help him refine his skills, but at that time we were more concerned about testing suit limits, and fixing any performance issues. Anyway, now that you are here, he can finally get some proper training."

Gepetto smiled at her.

"I hope."

Winter just sighed. Of course, this old fart couldn't skip any chance to try and rile her up.

"Is this all, doctor? If you don't need me anymore, I would like to retire to my room."

"Yes, yes, you can go. I need to run check ups on Jaune and suit. You can go."

* * *

_"So, how is your assignment treating you, Specialist?"_

Winter considered the answer for a moment.

"Quite well, General."

She couldn't see his face, the call being voice only, but she could swear he smiled.

_"You can be honest with me, Winter. I know Gepetto can be difficult at the best of times."_

Winter allowed herself a small smile. True, Gepetto's remarks were getting on her nerves at first, but after almost a month of working together he got bored of trying to rile her up. Nowadays, he limited himself to using a patronizing tone when explaining some technical aspect of ARES to her.

Or having Jaune explain it to her.

"It's honestly not as bad as I thought it would be. Gepetto made sure to make his opinion about me clear at the very beginning. Since then he has been rather cooperative. He says he has no intention of risking his project just to annoy me."

Ironwood chuckled.

_"I guess. Speaking of which, how is it? I read reports, but I would like to hear it from you directly."_

"Very Impressive. Its overall performance is far above any droid we have. Its overall mobility can match that of veteran hunter, while its strength and durability is even greater. Of course specialized Semblances can change that. The only real weakness I can think of is that users' physical capabilities do not matter too much, so someone already powerful might not get too much benefit from using it, but I don't think there are too many people like that."

"_How about it's usability? Did Gepetto manage to make it usable by anyone?"_

Winter winced. At one point the old scientist was sure he did succeed in this regard. Of course, WInter was tasked with testing the suit out.

She still remembered the feeling of elation when she activated it for the first time. The sensation was strange, unlike anything she ever experienced - right until it turned into pain. It started with her head, and soon after her whole body felt like someone put a thousand red-hot needles into her. Even after Gepetto and Jaune pulled her out of the suit it didn't stop. Every sound, every touch was a new needle piercing directly into her brain. She was pretty sure she lost consciousness for a moment, but any memory of experience was hazy.

She didn't understand much from Gepetto's explanation of why this happened - but surprisingly enough he didn't make it sound like it was her fault.

He even apologized. Honestly.

It freaked her out a bit.

"_Well, that is unfortunate." _Ironwood said after she told him about the failed experiment. "_But are you alright?"_

"Yes. Doctor assured me that there is no lasting damage from the incident. I had headache for two days, but I feel fine now."

"_That's good to hear." _Ironwood paused for a moment. "Is he ready, Specialist?"

Here it was. The real question.

For several weeks now scouts had observed an increase in Grimm activity along western coast of Atlas, and the military was preparing a clean-up operation. And, depending on what she said now, Jaune might become part of it.

The ARES team had talked about it for several days now, and she herself spent more than one sleepless night considering what was the best option.

Jaune was sixteen, with only a few months of combat training - if VR simulations were to be included. While his performance on the test were good, and they did let him hunt down any Grimm that wandered too close to Gepetto's cottage, was it enough to send him into a big operation like that?

It wasn't even hsi safety that she was worried about. He wouldn't be alone, and with how powerful the suit was, she doubted any regular Grimm could pose much of a threat to him.

What she worried about was how well he will be able to work with whatever team he will be assigned to. In big operations like this, individual strength didn't matter as much as teamwork and coordination.

Could she trust a sixteen year old kid to not mess anything up? Any mistake he made could endanger not only his life, but his whole team.

Then again, Jaune had proven to be very calm, and cautious. Too calm and cautious for his age, she would say, but maybe it was the result of a traumatic experience that was his accident.

"_Winter?"_ Ironwood's voice reminded her that she was supposed to give an answer.

"I think he is ready. His individual performance is at the level where most common Grimm are no threat. My only concern is how well he will be able to work with a team."

"_Very well. Then I approve of Gepetto's suggestion to include ARES in the upcoming Grimm culling operation. And don't worry, Winter, we won't throw him in the middle of things. He will join one of the support teams, so I doubt he will see any heavy fighting."_

* * *

**Well, what can I say. I really hoped to get this chapter out in a timely fashion. I really have no excuse, it's all because of my lazy ass getting distracted by other things. **

**I'm working on getting back on schedule, but I still won't make any promises about when next chapter will be out.**

**See you all (hopefully) soon.**


End file.
